The Springboks have been dealt a second injury blow when Coach Jacques Nienaber revealed that hooker Malcolm Marx pulled up lame in Wednesday’s (September 13) training session in Toulon.
Marx suffered an injury that Nienaber did not want to specify because of the Protection of Personal Information Act, but said the first-choice Bok hooker went for scans on Wednesday September 13.
Marx was not going to be part of the Springbok match-day 23 for Sunday’s second Pool B Rugby World Cup game against Romania in Bordeaux, where Nienaber opted to start Bongi Mbonambi with Deon Fourie providing cover off the bench.
However, Nienaber’s tone changed when he spoke about how Marx, a critical cog to the Bok forward group, had to undergo a scan and how he was not able to reveal the extent of the injury.
Marx joins Eben Etzebeth on the Springboks’ injury list, with the lock facing a 10-14 day wait for recovery even though Nienaber said he was on the field on Tuesday.
“Malcolm wasn’t selected for this game, so that doesn’t change anything in terms of the selection of this particular game.
While the Springboks have Stormers’ starting hooker Joseph Dweba on standby in the event of a tournament-ending injury, flanker Marco van Staden, who will be starting in the number six jersey, has also been participating in lineout routines. Nienaber had made it clear before departing for the World Cup last month that in the event of a front-row injury, they’ll make a straight swap.