Don’t blame only Marx for Bok lineout woes - Lions coach

Cape Town - Malcolm Marx’s forwards coach at the Lions says the hooker should not take all the blame for the Springboks' lineout woes.

Four Springbok linoeuts went astray in last Saturday’s 12-11 loss to England at Twickenham, with Marx criticised for his lineout throwing after the Test.

Lions defence coach Philip Lemmer told Netwerk24 that while he could not watch Marx’s performance at Twickenham, it would be unfair to lay all the blame at the door of the Bok No 2.

“I know from experience that lineouts aren’t just about how the ball is thrown in. Therefore, I always find it unfair when the blame is immediately shifted to the guy throwing in. Timing is important and if the jumper goes up a second too early or too late, then possession can be lost.

“It’s just like the scrums, where you can just blame the tighthead when a pack struggles. What I can say about Malcolm is that he works very hard at his throw-ins and literally spends hours on it during practice,” Lemmer said.

The Boks tackle France in Paris this weekend, with coach Rassie Erasmus to name his team later on Thursday.

Kick-off for Saturday's Test is scheduled for 22:00 (SA time).

ALSO READ: There’s no Bok lineout crisis, assures Rassie

Teams:

France

15 Maxime Medard, 14 Teddy Thomas, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Geoffrey Doumayrou, 11 Damian Penaud, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Baptiste Serin, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Arthur Iturria, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 3 Cedate Gomes Sa, 2 Guilhem Guirado (captain), 1 Jefferson Poirot 

Substitutes: 16 Camille Chat, 17 Dany Priso, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Paul Gabrillagues, 20 Mathieu Babillot, 21 Antoine Dupont, 22 Anthony Belleau, 23 Gael Fickou

South Africa

15 Willie le Roux, 14 S’bu Nkosi, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Duane Vermeulen, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff

Substitutes: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Francois Louw, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Elton Jantjies, 23 Cheslin Kolbe