Marvin Orie excited to face Pumas at ‘home of the Boks’ — Ellis Park

Springbok lock Marvin Orie is happy to be back at the home of South Africa rugby as the Boks take on Argentina in their Rugby Championship match-up at Ellis Park on Saturday evening.

Orie will know the ground like the back of his hand having spent four years at the Lions from 2017 to 2020, where he featured in over 80 games for them across Super Rugby and the Currie Cup.

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However, it holds an even more special place in his heart due to it being the ground of the Boks‘ first World Cup triumph back in 1995, with it having been a catalyst in helping the country start healing from the atrocities of apartheid.

“The special thing (about Ellis Park) is what happened in the World Cup in 1995. What that did for not only rugby in South Africa, but for the country itself is incredible,” said Orie.

“For me I perceive Ellis Park to be the home of the Springboks. Most countries have one main stadium where their national team plays at all the time. In South Africa we have many good stadiums, but Ellis Park always has that feel of the home of the national team.

“Being at altitude is also a big thing for the opposition (to overcome) and luckily for us we have been training up here for a while now so we will look to take advantage of that (against Argentina).”

Massive battle

Orie himself is in a massive battle against a number of talented Bok locks battling it out for a place in the World Cup squad and will need to take his opportunity to impress this weekend, but admits that he is more focused on trying to improve the team.

“There is a lot of competition (in the position) which is good for the team. Quite a few of our guys have played more than 50 Tests (for the Boks) and JK (Jean Kleyn) has played for the national side in Ireland,” explained Orie.

“So we push each other every day in training. The competition in many positions is high. So for me I don’t want to think about trying to secure my place in the World Cup squad.

“That’s not what rugby’s about. Rugby is about a team and I have to do my job in the team to help and improve the level of the team, and that is what I want to do this weekend.”

Eben Etzebeth

Orie will be teaming up with Eben Etzebeth in the second row this weekend, with the experienced lock notching up his 112^th Bok cap, passing John Smit’s 111, to become the fourth most capped Springbok in history.

“I am incredibly inspired by a guy like Eben and what he has done for South African rugby over the last I don’t even know how many years,” said Orie.

“He is an inspirational guy for myself and many of the other players, hence the captaincy (against the All Blacks) and hence he is a big leader in the team.

“In a match his calmness helps me immensely. When there is a bit of a scuffle some people might think he doesn’t look calm. But in other stuff he is incredibly calm. It obviously comes with experience, he has done it over so many matches and it helps everyone.”