The Vodacom Cup, where many current and past Springboks have taken their first steps in senior provincial rugby, kicks off this week with eight tough matches taking place across South Africa.
Last year’s champions, the Golden Lions, and runners-up, the Steval Pumas, are both in action on Friday.
The opening match takes place in Kempton Park, where the Valke will host the Steval Pumas, after which the Leopards XV host the Golden Lions in Potchefstroom. Both these matches are in the North Section, while the South Section opener will see the Cell C Sharks XV travel to East London to take on the Border Bulldogs.
On Saturday, City Park in Cape Town will host a unique double-header. Kenyan newcomers, the Tusker Simba XV, take on the EP Kings at their official home ground, while DHL Western Province, champions in 2012, and neighbours from Wellington, the Regent Boland Cavaliers, will also clash at this stadium in Athlone.
This week’s feautured player is Vodacom Cup Rising Star Malcolm Marx:
One player to watch in Friday’s match in Potchefstroom, is promising hooker Malcolm Marx, who is part of the Golden Lions’ squad in what will be his first taste of senior rugby.
The 19-year-old Marx, who was born on 13 July 1994, stands a solid 1.88m tall and weighs in at 113kg – Bismarck du Plessis is 1.89m and 112kg. Last year, he rubbed shoulders with the Springbok hooker when the Golden Lions Under-19 side helped the national team out at a number of training sessions in Johannesburg.
Marx is a born and bred Johannesburger who attended King Edward VII School – which produced Springboks such as Bryan Habana and Joe van Niekerk. He was named the Golden Lions’ U19 Forward of the Year in 2013 after a number of very strong performances for the runners up in the Absa Under-19 provincial competition, where he scored a try in the final against the Vodacom Blue Bulls U19s.
He is also part of the Lions’ wider Vodacom Super Rugby squad and could make their tour squad as third hooker early in May.
Marx, who likes the physical stuff, is a strong ball carrier and also brings leadership qualities to the table, is on the radar of the national selectors and a couple of strong performances in the Vodacom Cup will put him in line as a strong contender for the Junior Springbok squad for the Junior World Championships, which takes place in New Zealand in June.
Competition format for 2014:
South Africa’s 14 provincial unions, as well as the Limpopo Blue Bulls and Kenyan debutants, the Tusker Simba XV, will play in two sections, North and South, with eight teams each of the groups. All the teams will play in a single round within their own section after which the top eight sides, four from each section, will progress to the playoffs.
- Northern Section: Vodacom Blue Bulls, Golden Lions, Down Touch Griffons, GWK Griquas, Leopards XV, Steval Pumas, Valke, Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls.
- Southern Section: Regent Boland Cavaliers, Border Bulldogs, EP Kings, Toyota Free State XV, Sharks XV, SWD Eagles, Tusker Simba XV, DHL Western Province.
Round 1 fixtures:
Friday, 7 March
- Valke v Steval Pumas. Kick-off: 15h00. Barnard Stadium, Kempton Park. Jaco van Heerden
- Border Bulldogs v Cell C Sharks XV. 19h00. BCM Stadium, East London. Francois Pretorius
- Leopards XV v Golden Lions. 19h10. Profert Olën Park, Potchefstroom. Quinton Immelman
Saturday, 8 March
- Vodacom Blue Bulls v GWK Griquas. 14h30. Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria. Marius van der Westhuizen
- Tusker Simba XV v EP Kings. 15h00. City Park, Cape Town. Rodney Boneparte
- Down Touch Griffons v Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls. 15h00. Bultfontein High School. Jaco Kotze
- Toyota Free State XV v SWD Eagles. 16h00. Clive Solomon Stadium, Heidedal, Bloemfontein. Marius Jonker
- DHL Western Province v Regent Boland Cavaliers. 16h40. City Park, Cape Town. Pro Legoete
Read more on MyJHB.
Join the fun: Add Your event | Submit a Press Release | Add your listing.
