Rassie Erasmus to start Malcolm Marx after nine-month injury
Malcolm Marx has not played any rugby since the World Cup match against Scotland.
Rassie Erasmus looks set to throw Malcolm Marx back into the thick of Test rugby in the Springboks’ first match of 2024.
Marx has not played a single minute of rugby since sustaining a horror knee injury in training during the World Cup in France last year.
The world-class hooker has been sidelined for the past nine months as he recovered from the injury, missing the entire Japan Rugby League One season for the Kubota Spears.
Malcolm Marx to start v Wales
With no fixtures left in Japan for the hooker to ease his way back to full match fitness, he is set to mark his return in the Springboks jersey against Wales on June 22 in the clash at Twickenham Stadium.
According to Sunday newspaper Rapport, Marx is being lined up for a place in the starting line-up against Warren Gatland’s charges.
The move from Erasmus will allow him and his coaching team to monitor his progression and manage his minutes better than if he were to come off the bench.
With the match against Wales taking place outside of the official World Rugby international window, Siya Kolisi will be unavailable to the Springboks, which leads to Bongi Mbonambi, Eben Etzebeth and Pieter-Steph du Toit being the frontrunners for skipper the side.
However, the report adds that Mbonambi will now not be considered to captain the team in the opening game as he could provide cover from the bench for Marx.
Widely regarded as one of the finest hookers in the game when fit, Marx’s availability and fitness will be a huge boost for the Springboks when they return to South Africa for their two-Test series against Ireland.
His injury during the World Cup meant that Mbonambi was forced to play deep into the latter stages of their quarter-final and semi-final victories over France and England, respectively, before he sustained an injury in the opening minutes of the final, with Deon Fourie playing most of the match in the front-row.
The clash against Wales is on the same day as the URC final, which could mean that the Springboks could be without stars from the Stormers and/or Bulls, who both progressed into the play-offs.
