Marx brushes off Du Plessis comparisons

Springbok hooker Malcolm Marx feels he still has some way to go before he can be compared with his predecessor Bismarck du Plessis and feels he can still improve at Test level.

Although the Boks won just seven out of 13 Tests, Marx was one of their better players and was recently nominated for the for SA Rugby Player of the Year award alongside Bok captain Eben Etzebeth, Siya Kolisi, Jaco Kriel and Jan Serfontein.

Marx, who has played in 14 Tests, is delighted to be compared to Du Plessis, but said he wants to be remembered for his own achievements.

"Bismarck is a fantastic player and a great Springbok and, although it’s nice to be compared to him, I am pretty much my own man," he told the Springbok Magazine.

"I have a long road to walk still, but can learn a lot from his and other Springboks’ examples and their rugby journey." 

The 23-year-old was hailed for his superb performance in South Africa's narrow 25-24 defeat to New Zealand in their Rugby Championship Test at Newlands in October. 

This, after the All Blacks won the corresponding fixture 57-0 in Albany a few weeks earlier.

Marx said the Boks were determined to improve after the latter performance and prove that they were much better than that result.

"We wanted to show that the loss (against New Zealand) in Albany don’t define us as a team," he added. 

"Each player knew we had a responsibility to react and to play much better against the best team in the world. We also owed it to our supporters to show we are capable of playing much better."