Recognition for Malcolm Marx as the world’s best has been years in the making

Malcolm Marx. Two words that send a shudder through any opposition. Those words represent power in contact, great technical skill at the lineout and in the scrum and limpet-like aggression at the breakdown.

Two words that underline everything good about Bok rugby — excellence, humility, work ethic and uncompromising play.

Ireland lock James Ryan’s attempt to decapitate Marx at a ruck during last Saturday’s Test in Dublin, which the Boks won 24-13, summed up the fear and frustration the great South African hooker evokes in opponents.

They must negate him at all costs. Ryan went over the edge in his efforts to stop Marx, who had already earned his team one breakdown penalty earlier in the game.

The sight of the hulking hooker lurking at a ruck, ready to swoop and clamp his mighty arms over an Irishman on the ground and win the Boks another penalty, was too much for Ryan.

He flew into the ruck, shoulder-first and clattered into Marx’s face. It ended in a red card for Ryan and signalled the onset of a dramatic collapse in discipline by Ireland.

But that’s what Marx can do. He is a player the opposition knows can turn a game on its head.

And he’s been doing it all his life.

Colossal

In 2017, the relatively unknown Marx played his 11^th Test. It was against the All Blacks, at Newlands, and the Boks were reeling, having been thrashed 57-0 three weeks earlier.

Marx produced one of the greatest performances by a Springbok player in living memory. He was colossal.

He made four turnovers, 15 tackles, carried the ball for 92m, scored a try and helped create another as the Boks took the All Blacks to the wire, before losing 25-24.

The New Zealand Herald gave Marx a rare 10/10 score in its player ratings.

That was a blueprint of the damage he can cause and how it can translate to raising his teammates.

For the next eight years his performances for the Boks have seldom dipped below the standard he set that sunny October day, in what was the penultimate Test played at Newlands.

In 2025, despite eight years of Test match battles and a serious knee injury that ended his Rugby World Cup 2023 adventure after just one week, Marx continued to be a symbol of excellence.

And he was duly rewarded with the 2025 World Player of the Year.

In keeping with the type of person he is, the awards were not held at a fancy venue over dinner, but handed out within minutes of the final whistle in Dublin.

Former Bok great Victor Matfield was tasked with doing the honours. It’s the way Marx would have wanted it — surrounded by the men who support him in the afterglow of a big win.

Three South Africans were nominated for the World Player of the Year award: Marx, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Ox Nche.

Any one of them would have been a deserving winner in 2025, but Marx shaded it.

And when you see the reaction of his teammates, you understand that there wasn’t a more popular winner of the prestigious gong.

In fact, the most endearing sight was the joy on Bongi Mbonambi’s face as he embraced Marx. Mbonambi and Marx spent the last seven years as the Boks’ go-to hookers.

Watch Marx getting the award here.

Machine

In 2025, Marx had to shoulder more minutes than he had in the previous six years with Mbonambi’s injury and form issues.

Marx started 11 of the Boks’ 13 Tests and played an average of 70 minutes per game. It’s a remarkable workload, yet his performances remained at a freakishly high standard.

Against Ireland, he was man of the match.

Ever humble, Marx deflected attention from himself after winning the award.

“I don’t think it’s really sunk in, to be honest,” said Marx.

“To be fair, none of this is achieved without the team environment we have, without the management, without the players.

“We are a tight-knit group, and things like this happen when you have a group that we have.

“In my opinion, this isn’t just for me an individual award; I think it’s more a team award, because the support and the structures that we have for guys to express themselves is unbelievable.

“It’s not just for me, it’s for our team, it’s for South Africa.”

Marx, who was also nominated for the award in 2018 and was the SA Rugby Men’s Player of the Year in 2017, joined the exclusive list of only three South Africans — Du Toit, Bryan Habana (2007), and Schalk Burger (2004) — to earn the award.

“On behalf of SA Rugby, I extend our heartfelt congratulations to Malcolm,” said the SA Rugby Union president, Mark Alexander.

“His work ethic is simply unbelievable, and he embodies everything we value in a Springbok — resilience, commitment and character. This award is a fitting recognition of his contribution to our team and to the sport of rugby.” DM