Victor Matfield, the iconic World Cup winner and master of the lineout in his playing days, walked into the victorious Springbok change room in Dublin with a smile on his face and a rather small trophy in his one hand.
But as Matfield spoke, his smile got bigger and the trophy size seemed to grow in stature. He confirmed that of the three Boks nominated for World Rugby's Player of the Year, Malcolm Marx was the winner.
It was a raw and rampant moment, as it should be, because Marx's celebration happened in the confines of the squad's sanctuary and their match-day holy place, the change room.
Marx's Springbok teammate, fellow hooker and biggest national team positional rival, Bongi Mbonambi, was the first to embrace his Bok brother as he…