South Africa’s Malcolm Marx has been dealt a major blow as he has been ruled out of the Rugby World Cup due to a knee injury. The 27-year-old hooker suffered the injury during training between South Africa’s games against Scotland and Romania. Marx, who was not selected for the matchday squad against Romania, had his knee caught in contact and will now miss the rest of the tournament.
South Africa, the defending champions, have an enlarged 33-man squad for the World Cup and have sufficient cover at the hooker position, so Marx will not be replaced in the squad at this stage. However, his absence will be felt by the team and coach Jacques Nienaber expressed his disappointment for Marx, wishing him a speedy recovery.
Nienaber stated, He’s been working very hard to be in the best form possible for the tournament, and it’s tragic that his campaign has ended this way. The coach also assured that South Africa will support Marx throughout his recovery process.
South Africa currently have Bongi Mbonambi and Deon Fourie as options at hooker in their squad, with Marco van Staden also training in that position. The team will assess their needs for the remainder of the tournament and decide on an additional player to call up later in the week.
Despite Marx’s absence, South Africa will aim to continue their successful start to the World Cup. They began with an 18-3 victory over Scotland and will face Romania in their next match on Sunday. The Springboks will hope that the news of Marx’s injury does not affect their momentum as they seek to defend their title.
In conclusion, South Africa’s Malcolm Marx has been ruled out of the Rugby World Cup due to a knee injury sustained in training. The team has sufficient cover at the hooker position but will assess their needs for the rest of the tournament. South Africa will continue their campaign with the aim of securing another victory against Romania.
