Cape Town - Bryan Habana has congratulated Malcolm Marx on his inclusion in the Springbok squad for Saturday’s Rugby Championship Test against the All Blacks in Christchurch.
Marx replaces Bongi Mbonambi on the bench and will make his Test debut if he takes to the field at AMI Stadium.
Both Habana and Marx hail from the same school - King Edward VII in Johannesburg - and the veteran Bok wing was happy to see the Lions hooker included in the squad.
Habana posted a special message on his Instagram account (see below), where he predicted a rosy international future for the 22-year-old Marx.
Habana, meanwhile, will rewrite the record books when he takes to the field against the All Blacks. He will become the most capped Springbok in Tri-Nations/Rugby Championship history with 51 appearances, surpassing centre Jean de Villiers' 50 Test mark.
It will also be Habana's 120th Test as a wing in the Green and Gold, which is a world record.
Habana, the oldest player in Saturday's squad at 33 years, three months and five days, is the all-time leading Bok try-scorer against the All Blacks, with seven tries.
He will be looking to add to his total Test try tally of 65 - which is a record for a tier 1 player.
Saturday's Test kicks off at 09:35 (SA time)
Teams:
New Zealand
15 Ben Smith 14 Israel Dagg, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read (captain), 7 Ardie Savea, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Joe Moody
Substitutes: 16 James Parsons, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Luke Romano, 20 Matt Todd, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Lima Sopoaga, 23 Anton Lienert-Brown
South Africa
15 Johan Goosen, 14 Bryan Habana, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Juan de Jongh, 11 Francois Hougaard, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Substitutes: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Lourens Adriaanse, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Willem Alberts, 21 Jaco Kriel, 22 Morne Steyn, 23 Damian de Allende