Cape Town - Lions hooker Malcolm Marx on Tuesday shook off the high praise delivered to him by television pundit and former Springbok coach Nick Mallett.
Mallett, speaking in the SuperSport studio last weekend, heaped praise on Marx after the Lions’ 40-23 quarter-final win over the Jaguares, calling him the “best in the world”.
Marx responded to Mallett’s praise by telling the Sydney Morning Herald: "I am obviously very humbled, but it is not about me it is about the team at the end of the day. Anything I can do to benefit the team and put the team in a better position to win the game, that is what I will do."
Mallett said Marx was able to relieve the pressure off his team-mates.
“Whenever the Lions were under pressure, Marx turned the ball over. He must have had five or six turnover penalties right in the red zone when they were under intense pressure. I thought Marx was outstanding,” Mallett said.
“I think that we should be so grateful. We have had a great captain in John Smit as a hooker, we had Bismarck du Plessis, who was the best in the world in his time. Suddenly out of nowhere pops Marx, the best in the world in my opinion, at a very young age already.”
The Lions will face the Waratahs in the Super Rugby semi-finals at Ellis Park on Saturday (15:05 kick-off).
