KEVIN MCCALLUM: Marx’s injury a blow to remind the Boks why they’re champs

Well, sh*t. In the blink of an eye, in the twist of a knee, in the sigh of a statement from a gutted team, we heard that Malcolm Marx will play no further part in this Rugby World Cup.

You could blame the tentative purgatory of the first week of the Rugby World Cup for the loss of the best hooker in the world. It is where the fury of the opening matches, where might and mind tumble together in the early race to make a point can result in casualties. 

One of those was Eben Etzebeth’s injured shoulder after the opener against Scotland. He made a point or three in that game, which saw off the team wearing blue. Yup, that’s the blue of Scotland, for the colour blind of you out there, and this includes me. The team in the not blue, the whatever the toothpaste package colour that was, were the Springboks.

But, from early reports, Marx suffered his injury in training on Wednesday, an anterior cruciate ligament, an end to a World Cup and the best part of a year out of the game. It is in so many ways a devastating thing. Marx is an extraordinary rugby player, one who once thought he could be no more than ordinary because he just didn’t know what he was capable of. As he said in a SuperSport interview of his career: “I will try, but there are so many good rugby players out there, I don’t think it will happen for me.” 

But, it did happen for this boy born in Germiston and raised in Joburg by a single mother, Bernadine. He went to KES, moved from flank to hooker, got picked by the Lions, then the Springboks and, at the age of 29, is a Springbok great. As he ponders his luck, the nonsense of fate and the hope he must retain to return, he could do worse than to remember  what he told News24 in 2018:

“I was raised by a single parent, my mother Bernadine, and my drive in life to be the best comes from her. Growing up wasn’t so easy but my mother literally did everything she could in her power to give us what we needed and that made me realise that I’ve got to drive myself. I will never let my mother down and be disappointed with me. I always want to make my mother, brother and girlfriend proud. My drive comes from how my mother raised us. She taught us not to give up and to always stick in the fight no matter the circumstances. In terms of working hard on my game, moving from flank to hooker wasn’t easy for me and I really wanted to learn and get better.”

And, what now for the Springboks as they contemplate a World Cup without Marx? This, surely, given the years of planning, wondering and sketching of worst-case scenarios, must have be in a folder marked: “FFS.” 

Given the talk from Toulon this week after the Springboks picked four players who are, nominally, No 9s, the narrative will have been well planned as we look ahead to Sunday’s match against Romania. Grant Williams, who replaced Faf de Klerk at scrumhalf against Scotland, played on the wing at school. So, being on the wing is cool for him. De Klerk, who is on the bench and probably the starting nine, played at flyhalf at school. Cobus Reinach can also play at wing. We must assume that Jaden Hendrikse can also play at 11 or 14, or 10 through 13, and 15 at a push. This is what the coaches say ... and hope.

Can we also assume that the Springbok management may be readying a narrative that Handré Pollard once played hooker for his under-9 team at school? That would open the door for his inclusion to add a kicker to a team that can put the boot in at will, but can’t will the boot to kick conversions and penalties.

World Cup rugby is a very different beast to playing during the seasons in between the four-year cycle. The intensity is extraordinary, weak points are amplified and questions asked can outnumber the answers. Perhaps it is a good thing the Springboks have had the Marx question asked of them so early. Dealing with adversity, expecting the unexpected and adapting in the blink of an eye, the twist of a knee and the sigh of a statement are what champions need to remain champions.