Rassie Erasmus convinces Frans Malherbe to shelve retirement plan while fellow Springbok is ‘two years younger’ due to injury
Rassie Erasmus convinced Frans Malherbe not to retire, while scrum coach weighs in on the future of Trevor Nyakane.
Rassie Erasmus has revealed that he spoke Frans Malherbe out of making a retirement call, while Springboks scrum coach Daan Human says that they have not forgotten about another injured double World Cup winner.
Malherbe, 34, is widely regarded as one of the greatest Springboks tightheads, racking up 76 appearances in the Green and Gold jersey while playing a central role in both the World Cup victories and the British and Irish Lions series win.
However, he missed the entirety of the 2025 international season as well as the November internationals the year prior.
In fact, his last match was for the Stormers in May 2025 as he continues to struggle with back and neck injuries, with John Dobson revealing that he sustained a setback during his rehabilitation, suffering a hip injury.
Despite not playing any rugby for almost a year now, Malherbe was still invited to Erasmus’ first Springboks alignment camp in Cape Town, reinforcing the fact that he is still in the Boks’ plans for the 2027 World Cup.
Stopping Malherbe from retiring
Speaking to the Sunday papers from the Mother City last week, Erasmus said that he convinced Malherbe that it wasn’t a good idea for him to retire from the game if he still harboured ambitions to return at a later date.
Os du Randt famously came out of retirement to win a second World Cup with South Africa after doing so way back in 1995, but much has changed since the loosehead prop did so with Jake White’s Boks in 2007.
“I had a meeting with him last year, and Franna was close to retiring,” Erasmus said.
“Not because he thought he wouldn’t be able to play again, but because he was struggling with his back – just to do normal things with his family, things that he loves.
“It was frustrating for him. Some of us gave him advice and said that if you retire, you can’t just say in three years that you are going to come back now.
“It’s better not to retire with the thought that you’ll come back in a few years. That was the advice from his other friends and us.”
In Malherbe’s absence, Thomas du Toit and Wilco Louw have become key players in the Springboks’ front-row, with the former named in World Rugby’s Dream XV of the year for his efforts in 2025.
Ex-Junior Bok Zachary Porthen also made his Test debut against Japan on the end-of-year tour, while Asenathi Ntlabakanye and Neethling Fouche also earned their first caps in July.
But Erasmus hasn’t forgotten about the veteran number three, adding, “We forget how good Frans was for us two years ago.”
Dave Wessels claims South Africa are ‘far beyond anyone else in the world’ in one crucial area
Trevor Nyakane is ‘two years younger’
Another prop who missed the entire 2025 season was fellow double World Cup winner Trevor Nyakane who is still working his way back from an ACL injury.
The 36-year-old is renowned for his ability to play on both sides of the scrum, which is something that has been trialled with Porthen, and while it’s a handy skillset, Human doesn’t believe that it’s essential to have a ‘swing prop’ option.
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The scrum guru adds that because Nyakane hasn’t played for so long, he is actually younger in rugby terms than his age suggests.
“There isn’t an emptiness without Trevor; he is actually a gain, he is not older today, he is younger because he hasn’t played much in the last two years,” he said.
“We are not counting him out. A guy like Zach Porthen played loosehead and tighthead for us, and how we packaged everything around him made it work for us, and then he plugged the gap versus Wales.
“But the need for a ‘swinger’ is becoming less and less because we need to have two full front rows in the 23, it might help us if we are in big trouble. He might be very able because he has done so well so far, which I’m grateful for, but he must just get on the field.”
While Malherbe’s absence has been a blow for the Boks, Human adds that it has created depth in the position: “Frans was rested and struggled with injuries, but last year other guys like Thomas du Toit and Wilco Louw stepped up and took their opportunities. That’s how you build and improve your depth.”
