How Marx caused havoc for All Black hooker
SPOTLIGHT: Malcolm Marx has become a name that is well-respected and feared with many shaking in their boots at the thought of going head-to-head with the Springbok hooker.
One player who had the challenging task of locking horns with the star was Samisoni Taukei’aho.
The 25-year-old got a chance to test his strength against Marx in the last 30 minutes of the Rugby Championship Round Two clash between All Blacks and Springboks in Auckland.
Taukei’aho was deployed just after Marx scored his team’s first try, which reduced New Zealand’s lead to ten.
The Springboks failed to produce a complete comeback as they went down 20-35.
However, hooker Marx was one of the standout performers in the side and left a strong impression on Taukei’aho.
Recollecting on his battle with the Springbok star, Taukei’aho labelled him as a quality and world-class player.
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“He’s actually quite built and he’s quite tall,” Taukei’aho told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.
“Scrummaging-wise, you’ve got to nail it because sometimes he can separate you from your connection with your props and he does that quite well.
“I was quite lucky on the weekend I had Nepo [Laulala] on one side and big Tamaiti [Willimas] on the other so it was quite safe in the middle there.
“You’ve just got to nail those finer details in blocking and keeping him out because when he came on he caused a bit of havoc.
“He’s a quality player, obviously we know on the defensive side of it, over the ball, he’s pretty much immovable because he just locks in, he’s got really good technique. For a tall person, it’s really good. Around the field he’s world-class.”
The All Black said nullifying the Springbok’s scrums played a huge part in their victory.
“With South Africa, their maul and their scrum, that’s kind of their DNA,” Taukei’aho said adding: “That’s what they’ve set up their game around, so take that away from them and you go a long way to getting the job done.”
*Additional Source: Aotearoa Rugby Pod.
