Born in Germiston, Malcolm Marx (19) had to get special permission from the South African Rugby Union (SARU) to play at a senior level.<\/p>\n
“It’s\u00a0 a big honour for me to represent my province at senior level and feel very humbled by the experience; it’s an opportunity for me to do something big,” said Marx.<\/p>
The exceptional teenager amd promising hooker has played et every junior level for the Lion’s, from u-13 Craven Week to Grant Khomo, Academy Week, u-18 Craven Week, and finally in last year’s Absa u-19 provincial competition, where he was named the Golden Lions’ u-19 Forward of the Year.<\/p>\n
“It felt good to receive the nomination, but I coudn’t have done it without my team and all their hard work,” said Marx.<\/p>
Playing in the Vodacom Cup this season is his first taste of senior rugby and he was granted permission from SARU to play at such a young age, in line with the regulations of SARU’s BokSmart rugby safety programme.<\/p>\n
“The Vodacom Cup is a good competition, it has some of the best guys in South Africa playing and there is a lot of young talent,” added Marx.<\/p>\n
The Vodacom Cup is South Africa’s premier development tournament and is celebrating its 17th year since its inception in 1998; the tagline remains “Tjovitjo” which means “It’s all good”.<\/p>\n
The mandate of the tournament is to unearth the future stars of South African rugby and this forms a crucial bridge between the junior levels and Super Rugby, and finally achieving the much sought after green and gold.<\/p>\n
Marx stands at a solid 1.88m tall and weighs in at 113kg, much like his hero, Bismarck du Plessis , who is 1.89m tall and weighs 112kg.<\/p>\n
“Bismarck is my ultimate hero; I admire the way he plays and what he does on the field,” said Marx added.<\/p>\n
“It’s easy to see why he is number one in the world; I want to be exactly like him.”<\/p>\n
Marx already stands out for his exceptional ball carrying skills, his ability to make decisions quickly and being able to lead from the front row.<\/p>\n
The Golden Lions have had two close wins so far in the tournament; they won their first match against the Leopards XV in Potchefstroom 18-16 and beat the Valke by one point (23-22) at Ellis Park, recently.<\/p>\n