Fresh from winning a league title, Springbok hooker Malcolm Marx has signed a new contract to extend his stay in Japan until after the 2023 World Cup.
MORE: Joy and pain for Boks in Japan
Marx, with former Stormers and Sharks lock Ruan Botha, claimed winner’s medals, as Australian flyhalf Bernard Foley guided Kubota Spears to a first Japan Rugby League One title with a clinical display in a 17-15 win against Wild Knights at Tokyo’s National Stadium.
The Spears, coached by Frans Ludeke, announced on Monday that both Foley and Marx had put pen to paper on new contracts that will run until the end of May 2025.
【契約合意(継続)のお知らせ】
クボタスピアーズ船橋・東京ベイは、バーナード・フォーリー選手とマルコム・マークス選手と2025年5月末までの選手契約合意に至りましたのでお知らせします。2人のプレーは #RWC2023 の後もスピアーズで見ることができます。… pic.twitter.com/wwAKhVBUlg
— クボタスピアーズ船橋・東京ベイ (@Kubota_Spears) May 22, 2023
Marx first joined Kubota Spears in 2020 after initially moving to Japan by signing for the Shining Arcs, before the Covid-19 pandemic brought the season to an end.
The former Lions hooker is one of six players with South African roots in Kubota’s squad, including Botha, Schalk Erasmus, David Bulbring, Rikus Pretorius, Gerhard van den Heever and Japan-capped Pieter Labuschagne.
Photo: Andrew Cornaga / www.Photosport.nz