Boks aim to take a step up against Wales, says Marx ahead of Durban showdown
· Citizen
Reigning World Rugby Player of the Year, Malcolm Marx, says that there is always room for improvement, and that the Springboks will be focusing on getting better when they take on Wales in their third Nations Championship match at Kings Park in Durban on Saturday.
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Marx is also the SA Rugby Player of the Year after a terrific 2025 international campaign, and will be making his second start of the season after fronting up against England at Ellis Park a few weeks ago.
Despite the Boks picking up good wins over England and Scotland so far in the July Test window, while also being strong favourites against Wales, Marx said that they can’t let their guards down and have to keep getting better as a team.
“Obviously there is always room for improvement regardless of how the game goes or whether you think you’ve had a perfect game or not. The game of rugby is not perfect and there will always be errors and mistakes,” explained Marx ahead of the match.
“So I think we just want to work on the small things we didn’t get right over the previous two weeks and try and improve on those. Our focus is on Wales, we know how physical they can be and what a threat they are.
“We are preparing ourselves for that as best as we can and working on those small one or two percenters to get better for this weekend. Wales are a tough side regardless of their previous results. They are an extremely physical side and are well drilled, so it’s going to be a great test.
“It doesn’t matter who we are playing, we approach every single Test the same and I think everybody is looking forward to the challenge knowing the physicality and the game plan that they bring.”
Front row senior
The 32-year-old Marx, with an impressive 88 caps, will be the senior man in front row featuring loosehead prop Gerhard Steenekamp (17 caps) and tighthead debutant Carlu Sadie, and he is looking forward to playing alongside his former teammate again.
“Carlu obviously had a great season at Bordeaux and now he is getting his opportunity (for the Boks). I scrummed with him when I was at the Lions back in 2018 and 2019, so I have played rugby with him before and have scrummed next to him, so I know what he can do” said Marx.
“Obviously we haven’t played together for a while, so we are just testing combinations and seeing what works best. But I am looking forward to the challenge this weekend and I think he is as well.”
Looking ahead to next year, Marx admitted he was keen for another crack at a World Cup, after he triumphed with the Boks in 2019, but suffered an injury in training after one game in 2023 that ruled him out of the rest of the tournament.
“I think it is (a target to play at next year’s World Cup), but obviously that’s a long term goal and for now I am just focusing on the preparation and making sure I am ready for Wales,” said Marx.
“I am trying not to look too far ahead and taking it game by game to give myself the best chance (of going to the World Cup).”