Veteran scrum anchor Frans Malherbe was once again worth his weight in gold for the Springboks in Saturday’s victory over the All Blacks.
In a match underpinned by the Man of the Match performance of Malcolm Marx, tighthead prop Malherbe was an unsung hero as the Boks dominated the All Blacks in Nelspruit.
The visitors lost the scrum battle 4-1 in penalties, which kept them trapped in their half for most of the first 40 minutes, thanks in no small part to Malherbe continuing his record of dominating opposing looseheads.
According to The Roar website, the Bok tighthead has won 34 scrum penalties more than he has conceded in his career.
Frans Malherbe has a positive nett scrum penalty count of 34 penalties. That’s equal to 102 pts or 20-ish tries. In his career of 46 tests (in which he generally only plays 1 half). Crazy numbers
— Boetcoin (@Boetkooin) August 7, 2022
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When not claiming the front foot at the set piece, Malherbe epitomised the Bok high-energy defence in Nelspruit that forced the All Blacks backwards with several physical hits, while he was also a menace at the breakdown.
Frans Malherbe making 3 tackles in 25 seconds#RSAvNZL https://t.co/dE7pfBHLVs pic.twitter.com/IgPsMPUazZ
— Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) August 8, 2022
Pssst.
Hey you.
Wanna see a nice clean out? #RSAvNZL pic.twitter.com/HyTwzuBRLR
— Three Red Kings (@threeredkings) August 7, 2022
ICYMI – Unsung Hero: Butch, Frans battle for the spotlight
Photo: @Springboks/Twitter
