Jacques Nienaber has praised the tireless performances of Frans Malherbe on the eve of the 2019 World Cup winner’s 50th Test cap for the Springboks on Saturday.

“Frans’ work ethic is fantastic and although he is quiet off the field, he certainly makes his presence felt on the field,” said Nienaber, with Malherbe poised to reach his milestone against the All Blacks at Ellis Park in the Rugby Championship.

“We are very proud of Frans, and it is up to the team to make it a memorable occasion for him by giving their all to register a victory.”

Malherbe was once again worth his weight in gold for the Boks in Saturday’s victory over New Zealand.

In a match underpinned by the Man of the Match outing from Malcolm Marx, Malherbe was an unsung hero as he continued his record of dominating opposing looseheads in the scrums.

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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 Kiwis backwards with several physical hits, while he was also a menace at the breakdown.

The All Blacks defeat at Mbombela Stadium was their fifth loss in six Tests and Nienaber expects a massive backlash from Ian Foster’s troops on Saturday.

“New Zealand are similar to the Springboks in the sense that they do not give up,” the Bok coach said.

“They fought until the end against us at the Mbombela Stadium last week and we expect nothing less from them on Saturday.

“There are areas that we need to make a step-up in, and it will be vital to get that right before we travel to Australia and Argentina for the away leg of the tournament, so this is a vital match for us.”

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