Sports
WALES captain Dewi Lake is looking forward to rekindling his rivalry with South Africa hooker Malcolm Marx at Twickenham on Saturday.
The pair were captured in an iconic photograph taken towards the end of the first Test between Wales and the Springboks in Pretoria in July 2022.
Marx was pointing aggressively at a smiling Lake and Wales team-mate Tommy Reffell.
“I think it was 29-29 at the time,” said Lake.
“Emotions were flying and you are feeling the crowd at Loftus [Versfeld Stadium] with 50,000 people there, it was a hostile crowd.
“That’s the way I like to play the game, on the edge. That’s the way we as a group want to play.”
Lake and Marx had both come off the replacements bench with the Wales hooker scoring a try before Springboks gained the late victory with a last-minute penalty.
“We’ve always had really good battles,” said Lake.
“I’ve got some fond memories of that summer tour in South Africa a couple of years ago.”
Returning hookers
Lake and Marx are returning to international rugby for the first time since last year’s World Cup.
Lake, 25, missed the Six Nations because of a hamstring injury while Marx, 29, will be playing his first game since suffering a serious knee problem in the opening World Cup pool encounter against Scotland.
“I haven’t faced off against him in a while,” said Lake.
“I’m sure he’ll be chomping at the bit to get back to international rugby.
“It will be exciting to go against him again because he is regarded as one of the best hookers in the world and that’s the type of competition we want.”
Lake might be the senior hooker in Australia with Elliot Dee in danger of missing the tour with an ankle injury and Ryan Elias being rested for the summer.
This could leave rookie Cardiff duo Evan Lloyd and Efan Daniel in contention to travel.
BBCSport
A.I
June 21, 2024 @ 07:39 GMT
Tags: Dewi Lake Hooker Malcolm Tommy Reffell.
