Marco van Staden

Marco Gerhardt van Staden (born 25 August 1995) is a South African professional rugby union player formerly of Leicester Tigers in Premiership Rugby, England's top domestic tier of rugby. He also previously played for the Bulls in Super Rugby, the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup and the Blue Bulls XV in the Rugby Challenge. His regular position is flanker. Quotes I’m happy with the way I’m playing now but credit has to go the Bulls’ coaching staff for implementing a system that suits my game Obviously it’s a goal for me to get back into that Springbok squad. But I can only control what I do, and what I can control now is to play the best that I can for the Bulls. I can’t control the rest. When I got released from the squad last year, I was disappointed. It wasn’t my time and I accept that. Hopefully the right time will come. I want to be in the squad and play for the Boks again, but if I’m not picked, that’s OK too. Everything happens for a reason.’ I like all the physical aspects of the game, so I like defensive tackling and getting over the ball, carrying the ball, ball-cleaning and stealing the ball The things I can still improve on are my accuracy at the breakdown, and my discipline – I sometimes give unnecessary penalties away. One can never be on top of their game – there’s always room for improvement; always room for learning. I can always improve my technique in the way I play. As long as I keep playing, I’ll keep trying to improve, learn more and be better. ‘I can’t compare to Francois Louw. He’s a wonderful player on his own, I don’t want to compare myself to a great player like him In terms of the role, openside is my preferred position, but whatever the coaches and the selectors want from me on the field, I’ll do my best to deliver where I can Van Staden: I want to play for Boks again, February 2021,SA RUGBY MAG by Marietta Adams Yes, It actually started when Akker got an injury and because I’ve fulfilled that role with the Springboks in the past, I was asked to do that. Now that Akker is out for a while, I’m happy to do both roles, In general play it is very much the same, so it is only the lineout throw ins and the scrum that is different, but with coach Werner (Kruger, scrum coach at the Bulls) and coach Daan (Human, Bok scrum coach) we did a lot of work to get comfortable in the scrums. I’m very comfortable to do it for the Bulls or for the Springboks if they need me. Yeah, like you say, it's developing a lot of multiple positions, but, yeah, for me, for me it's just wherever the coach wants me to play, I'll play. And what the team needs is an advantage, but yeah, for me, I think it's what the team needs, and if I can play in that role, give the team an advantage, I'm happy. So we have multiple sessions, we have both teams and team sessions, so I try to mix it up, and obviously we get the details off the field, so I try to know both roles as well as I can. So whatever position is needed on the weekend, if I go on a hooker or flank, I can know my detail. And then we have opportunities to do where I can go in both roles on the field as well during the week, so now it helps a lot With the other hookers and other flanks, we help each other on the field to make it a lot easier. Because you never know when it's your last. There's a few standouts, but for me, every game for the Bulls is special But yeah, every game for me is special. I know how short a career can be, so I try and make every game as special as I can. I try and give everything I can. They make going the long way around worth it. I am just privileged, and I'm thankful for the opportunity to play 100 games for the Bulls. Looking back at the journey, I'm just honoured to be here. Bulls’ Marco van Staden ready for ‘one more step’ after all the hard knocks,March 2026, Supersport by Brenden Nel I was given an opportunity at the Tuks rugby academy, but my parents had to pay for it and I had to study sports science. My father and my grandfather were both mechanical engineers, and it would've made sense for my father to tell me I need to rather just go and study mechanical engineering. But I take my hat off to him because he backed me. He told me to go for it, I'm actually thankful for the difficult times, It's taught me to appreciate things more. It taught me that you have to work for everything you want in life. Nothing has ever been handed to me. I've had to work for it. My dad also taught me the value of hard work. My dad and I are very close. I don't have a brother, and he's almost like a brother to me as well as my father. We did everything together. It was he who taught me how to work with my hands. To this day, if I'm working on something myself, I'll phone him maybe three times a day for advice My dad and I then built our own kiln and started making our own knives,While I was at school we'd spend many late nights in his workshop making a knife. I go to knife shows and am always on the lookout for something different. I like to collect knives that have a story behind them, and I'm especially fond of handcrafted knives. South Africa has some of the best handcrafted knives in the world. Sometimes I'll be looking for a knife with a handle made from a warthog tusk. I also have a knife where the blade has been made from the rim of an ox wagon wheel. The story behind the knife is important to me. I suppose the process to get where I am today has been exactly like that of making a knife – what the steel looks like in the beginning to how it becomes the final product. If I look back, it's been a journey to get here. I still want to play the best rugby of my career,I always believe the best lies ahead, and you cannot stop learning. My faith has always driven me to keep pushing through the challenges, and I try to focus on what you can learn from them rather than complaining about them. Forged in fire: Marco van Staden reflects on struggles that shaped his rugby journey,May 2025,BokSquard by BokSquard External links Category:Rugby union players from South Africa Category:Living people Category:1995 births