World Rugby Player of the Year Malcolm Marx staying grounded in Bok camp

Round 5 of the Nations Championship gets underway at Stade de France on Friday night. Marx is locked in for the battle up front and is not letting his recent personal accolade get in the way of his mentality for the blockbuster match.

"You must always be fit week in and week out, and be at your best regardless of how many years you've been here," the hooker told the press on Tuesday.

"I can't rely on things I did last year or the year before to get me through now. It still takes a lot of hard work and dedication, and in this group of players and management, everybody's equal.

"It doesn't matter what you've won or achieved - everybody is treated exactly the same, so it doesn't add extra pressure, because we've got another big challenge ahead this weekend and we cannot rely on previous results to pull us through this week. I still have to work hard and make sure I contribute in the best way I can.

"That said, it's still a great honour, and it's always a dream every single year to represent my country. It's a really nice environment to be a part of, and it's still a big part of my life."

France may still opt to draw motivation from their narrow loss at the same venue in the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarterfinal. However, Marx's focused on controlling the controllables rather than the opposition.

"I speak on behalf of myself, but we've had a few narrow wins against them, and in 2023 they obviously felt they should have been in the World Cup final, which does leave a bit of a scar," added the 32-year-old.

"But if that's their mentality, that's their choice. We can only control the way we prepare and the way we approach a game, and that's to focus on ourselves in the best possible way with the pictures we've seen throughout the week."

READ MORE: France still hurting after 2023 Rugby World Cup loss, says Bok coach