Malcolm Marx's perceived "demotion" back to the Springbok bench for Saturday's Rugby Championship clash against the All Blacks at Ellis Park is the exact opposite according to head coach Jacques Nienaber.
The strapping hooker, playing his 50th Test, delivered an official Man of the Match performance as a starter in last week's 26-10 victory in Nelspruit, which renders his Bomb Squad role eye-catching to some.
However, Nienaber argued that line between starting player and replacement has become so blurred when it comes to Marx and the nuggety, dependable Bongi Mbonambi that the distinction is irrelevant anyway.
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"Like we've mentioned numerous times, if you start or bench, you have a specific role to fulfil," the Bok mentor said on Tuesday.
"I thought Malcolm performed his role last weekend brilliantly, but so did Bongi [two weeks before] in the final Test against Wales. To be honest, for us, there's not a lot of difference for us between starting a guy or benching him."
That same line of logic is applied to the looshead position, where Sharks star Ox Nche is back in the No 1 jersey after having last started in the first Test against Wales last month.
"We're just so fortunate with good looseheads, you know," said Nienaber.
"I honestly, sitting here, can't tell you who is better between Ox, Trevor Nyakane and Steven Kitshoff. It's a great dynamic to have."
As a result, keeping all of those star exponents motivated and happy becomes key.
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