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.<\/p>\n
Malherbe<\/a>, 34, is widely regarded as one of the greatest Springboks<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n However, he missed the entirety of the 2025 international season as well as the November internationals the year prior.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> during his rehabilitation, suffering a hip injury.<\/p>\n Despite not playing any rugby for almost a year now, Malherbe was still invited to Erasmus\u2019 first Springboks alignment camp in Cape Town, reinforcing the fact that he is still in the Boks\u2019 plans for the 2027 World Cup.<\/p>\n Stopping Malherbe from retiring<\/p>\n Speaking to the Sunday papers from the Mother City last week, Erasmus<\/a> said that he convinced Malherbe that it wasn\u2019t a good idea for him to retire from the game if he still harboured ambitions to return at a later date.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s Boks in 2007.<\/p>\n \u201cI had a meeting with him last year, and Franna was close to retiring,\u201d Erasmus said.<\/p>\n \u201cNot because he thought he wouldn\u2019t be able to play again, but because he was struggling with his back \u2013 just to do normal things with his family, things that he loves.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was frustrating for him. Some of us gave him advice and said that if you retire, you can\u2019t just say in three years that you are going to come back now.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s better not to retire with the thought that you\u2019ll come back in a few years. That was the advice from his other friends and us.\u201d<\/p>\n In Malherbe\u2019s absence, Thomas du Toit and Wilco Louw have become key players in the Springboks\u2019 front-row, with the former named in World Rugby\u2019s Dream XV of the year for his efforts in 2025.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n But Erasmus hasn\u2019t forgotten about the veteran number three, adding, \u201cWe forget how good Frans was for us two years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n Eddie Jones hails Rassie Erasmus as a \u2018rugby guru\u2019 but reveals what he \u2018didn\u2019t enjoy\u2019 about his coaching innovations<\/a><\/p>\n Dave Wessels claims South Africa are \u2018far beyond anyone else in the world\u2019 in one crucial area<\/a><\/p>\n Trevor Nyakane is \u2018two years younger\u2019<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s a handy skillset, Human doesn\u2019t believe that it\u2019s essential to have a \u2018swing prop\u2019 option.<\/p>\n