Opinion: Rassie, it’s time to look beyond Springboks greats Malcolm Marx and Bongi Mbonambi
Split image of Springboks hookers Malcolm Marx and Bongi Mbonambi.
Rassie Erasmus admitted last year that the Springboks are ‘a bit thin at hooker’ when discussing his plans for players over the next cycle for the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
He said as much in an interview with Afrikaans newspaper, the Rapport, where he raised concerns over his ageing squad that won back-to-back World Cups and now set their sights on an unprecedented three-peat.
There he bluntly said that he was unsure if Eben Etzebeth would make the next tournament, the lock will be 36 by the time Australia 2027 comes around.
“He is so athletic but I don’t know if he still has a World Cup in him,” Erasmus stated.
There are many players in the same boat and while Erasmus has blooded new talent in his first season back as head coach, there is one position of particular concern, hooker.
Springboks back versitility
The Springboks have been incredibly innovative since Erasmus and his right-hand man Jacques Nienaber returned to South Africa in 2018 and have taken a different approach to selecting squads than their other international counterparts.
Notably, Nienaber’s squad for the 2023 World Cup contained four scrum-halves, one out-and-out fly-half and just two hookers – Bongi Mbonambi and Malcolm Marx.
The Boks coaches backed the versatility at the World Cup with Faf de Klerk primarily selected as scrum-half but doubled up as a number ten while Grant Williams and Cobus Reinach were expected to cover wing as well, the former actually starting two pool matches in the position.
Similarly, in 2019, veteran Bok Schalk Brits was picked as a hooker but would start and captain the side from the back-row, something he was not unfamiliar with. Fast forward four years and the opposite was true for Deon Fourie who famously came off the bench minutes into the World Cup final to play hooker after Marx’s injury in the pool states and Mbonambi’s game being cut short by a horror clear-out by Shannon Frizell.
These tactics, with a bit of luck, have paid dividends for the Springboks but despite all the strength in depth they do have at their disposal it is rather puzzling as to why the side has not found a stable third-choice back up Mbonambi and Marx.
Chasing the Sun 2 showed just how highly regarded the two hookers are held in the Springboks set up and rightly so, as they have been amongst the best number twos in the world for over six years now. Both players have been accurate at the set-pieces during this time with Marx bringing a real poaching threat at the breakdown while Mbonambi’s brings brutal strength on both sides of the ball.
The pair provide a stunning double punch in the hooker position over the 80 minutes but it’s clear that the Boks need that third player and probably a fourth to step up, get experience at the highest level and start pushing the two incumbents for a place in the squad.
Erasmus raised the concern of Etzebeth’s age last November and based on his form this year, he has parked that discussion for the time being. However, there are heirs getting their shot with Salmaan Moerat in particular, as he given the opportunity to lead the side while Jean Kleyn could still be in the mix come 2027 and RG Snyman will most certainly be too.
Marx and Mbonambi’s dominance of the hooker role
But when it comes to hooker, since 2018, few have been given an extended opportunity in the all-important role. In fact, that number sits at just one and a player who now looks to be completely out of the selection frame, Joseph Dweba.
Analyst Angus Usher perfectly illustrated this by looking back at the hookers who have featured in the Springboks squad in the ‘Rassie era’.
The Boks have spread a wide net in the position with 12 players selected in the role, more than any other position.
Springboks hooker appearances since 2018 (as of 23/10/2024).
However, 83% of those Test matches since 2018 have had Marx or Mbonambi or both filling the hooker role over the 80 minutes, the remaining 17% has been shared by the other 10 players.
To break it down further, in the 75 Tests matches, 150 caps in the hooker roles (starting and bench) have been up for grabs and collectively Marx (59) and Mbonambi (61) have taken up 124, with the pair both going the full 80 minutes on two occasions.
That trend has continued into 2024 with Marx and Mbonambi dominating the hooker jersey once again; the former playing all but one Test match this year, against Portugal, and the latter missing the same game and another two.
Against Os Lobos, Johan Grobbelaar earned a Test debut as did Andre-Hugo Venter while Jan-Hendrik Wessels featured off the bench in the other game that Mbonambi did not play, the loss to Los Pumas in Argentina.
The amount of Tests Malcolm Marx and Bongi Mbonambi have played at hooker since 2018 versus the other 10 players.
There is no doubt that hooker is one of the most technically challenging positions on the rugby pitch and traditionally South Africa have had brilliant exponents of the position, think John Smit, Uli Schmidt, James Dalton, Bismark du Plessis, Adriaan Strauss and the list goes on and on.
Under Erasmus, the bar has been set incredibly high for the men wanting to don the number two jumper and Mbonambi and Marx are the only two that have been able to regularly meet that standard. However, after stating that the side ‘is a bit thin’ in the position, it is perplexing that Erasmus and assistants Daan Humaan and Deon Davids haven’t given the next generation more of an opportunity – particularly considering the fact that Mbonambi will be 36 years old by the time the World Cup comes along and Marx 33.
At 23, Venter is probably a bit too green still but Grobbelaar (26) is at the ideal age to press on to become a regular in the squad in time for the World Cup when he will be 29 years old. After earning six caps between 2021 and 2023, Dweba has been discarded which is entirely Erasmus’ prerogative.
But when naming his squad for the Autumn Nations Series, the Bok boss only included Wessels as Mbonambi and Marx’s back-up, with the Bulls star doubling up as a prop.
The decision to back versatility has paid off time and time again for the Springboks but when considering the extreme specialisation of the hooker role, it does feel like they are tempting fate which struck in 2023 with Marx’s injury.
During the World Cup, they made the bold decision to call-up fly-half Handre Pollard and back flanker Deon Fourie to make up the shortfall of minutes at hooker along with Marco van Staden, which paid off but could have just as easily backfired.
One has to think, about what would have occurred if the injury was sustained prior to the tournament and what if a similar event occurs before Australia 2027.
‘I don’t want to go back’ – Ex-Springboks boss Jacques Nienaber
“The straightforward third choice.”
There is no doubt that Marx and Mbonambi are not only two of the best hookers in world rugby right now but also in Bok history but Erasmus needs to start looking beyond the pair and improve his depth in the position.
The duo are proven Test quality and considering how the team has used the replacements in recent years, it is rather bizarre that they haven’t given an inexperienced hooker more opportunities to build their cap tallies with one of the pair on the bench.
Earlier this year, Erasmus emphatically stated: “Grobbies [Johan Grobbelaar] has improved a hell of a lot and it is a straightforward third choice at this stage for us.”
But that isn’t translating in his squad selections with the hooker missing out on the Autumn Nations Series. The Bok boss explained that there were ‘several unlucky players’ as he could only pick 34 and while Wessels makes things easier as a prop/hooker hybrid, surely Erasmus knows that eventually he needs another out-and-out hooker with double-digit Test caps at least.
Further options
Grobbelaar looks the natural successor to Marx, though his Test career is far from over, as he has a similar style and approach to the game particularly at the breakdown.
Dweba was viewed as a like-for-like replacement for Mbonambi but as mentioned above, he has fallen out of favour and if that is what the Boks are looking for then, Sharks hooker Fez Mbatha may be worth another look – who would be 28 years old by Australia 2027.
Mbatha was in the selection frame back in 2021 and attended camps without earning an official call-up or cap. He would fall down the pecking order in Durban but is now back playing the kind of rugby that initially caught the Boks’ eye and probably deserves another camp inclusion at least.
Venter is on the younger end of the scale and probably more of an option beyond 2027 while 33-year-old Akker van der Merwe looks to be on the other end of the spectrum.
If Erasmus and his coaching team now believe that Wessels is the next cab off the rank, then this November they need to give him more than a handful of minutes like he got in the role against Argentina during the Rugby Championship.
The one thing that certainly plays into the Bok boss’ favour is South Africa’s July international schedule next year. With the British and Irish Lions heading to Australia and France going to New Zealand, the Boks are set to host Georgia and Italy which again will give him the chance to test players.
The Georgians will give any hooker a tough time in the set-piece, never mind a rookie one while Italy continues to pose a threat to any team.
Regardless of whether Wessels – who would be 26 by the next World Cup – gets decent minutes in the northern hemisphere or not, Erasmus should be looking beyond Marx and Mbonambi in all three of these Test matches and avoid playing both players throughout that window. Alternating between the pair to provide some stability could be the route to go as they will both need Test minutes before the Rugby Championship but giving two inexperienced hookers a go in one of the Tests – as he did against Portugal – is certainly a worthwhile option too.
Erasmus has made it clear that their goal is now to complete the three-peat and as a meticulous planner, he will already be plotting their route to the final Down Under. However, he must be wary of not building the depth required in every position and relying too heavily on the tried, tested and historically successful without adequate back ups.
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