{"id":808190,"date":"2026-10-20T03:10:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T03:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/808190\/"},"modified":"2026-10-20T03:10:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T03:10:12","slug":"rassie-intervenes-springboks-legend-fighting-to-save-career-as-retirement-decision-looms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/808190\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Rassie intervenes&#8221; &#8211; Springboks legend fighting to save career as retirement decision looms"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Two-time Rugby World Cup winner Frans Malherbe is refusing to give up on his rugby career, despite a lengthy injury nightmare that has kept him out of action since March 2025.<\/p>\n<p>The 35-year-old Frans Malherbe has been one of South Africa&#8217;s most reliable performers for more than a decade, helping the Springboks win back-to-back World Cups in 2019 and 2023.<\/p>\n<p>But the veteran prop now faces a very different challenge.<\/p>\n<p>Persistent neck and back problems have left his playing future uncertain, with the possibility of retirement hanging over one of the most respected front-rowers in world rugby.<\/p>\n<p>Malherbe breaks silence on injury nightmareThere is finally some encouragement for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ruck.co.uk\/springboks-rugby-news\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Springboks<\/a> supporters.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking on Boks Unpacked X The Verdict, Malherbe revealed he has returned to training with the Stormers, although he is not yet taking part in contact sessions.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I think the bigger picture is that there has been good improvement,&#8221; he explained.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I have started training with the team, team training without contact and stuff like that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>And the famously understated prop even found time for a joke about his rehabilitation.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s obviously very nice to do rugby training, rugby-related, rather than just running back and forth \u2013 which is not my favorite part.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>He added: &#8220;I will hopefully soon get stuck into a scrum.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>His comments, reported by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.planetrugby.com\/news\/springboks-frans-malherbe-issues-hopeful-update-after-19-month-long-absence\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Planet Rugby<\/a>, offer fresh hope after 19 months on the sidelines.Rassie Erasmus intervenes as retirement looms<\/p>\n<p>Malherbe came close to calling time on his career before Springboks boss Rassie Erasmus encouraged him to keep fighting.<\/p>\n<p>The injury problems had become so severe that even everyday family activities were proving difficult.<\/p>\n<p>Erasmus previously revealed that the veteran had seriously considered retirement but was persuaded to delay his decision.<\/p>\n<p>The South Africa coach believes January could be a realistic target for a comeback, although that remains far from guaranteed.<\/p>\n<p>Planet Rugby<\/p>\n<p>January decision could decide World Cup dream<\/p>\n<p>Stormers director of rugby John Dobson has confirmed that Malherbe&#8217;s future could become clearer in January 2027.<\/p>\n<p>The prop was left out of the club&#8217;s squad for the new season, with Wilco Louw recruited to strengthen their front row.<\/p>\n<p>Dobson admitted that Malherbe is unlikely to play in the immediate future, with no firm decision made about retirement.<\/p>\n<p>Rugby365<\/p>\n<p>For a player who has won 76 caps and two World Cups, it would be a cruel way to bow out.<\/p>\n<p>But Malherbe is not finished fighting just yet.<\/p>\n<p>And with the 2027 Rugby World Cup approaching, one of South Africa&#8217;s great modern props still has a reason to keep going.<\/p>\n<p>Select your Springboks XV:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two-time Rugby World Cup winner Frans Malherbe is refusing to give up on his rugby career, despite a&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":808191,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,118921,101,261755,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-808190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-rugby","tag-rugby-news","tag-sports","tag-springboks-rugby-news","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/808190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=808190"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/808190\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/808191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=808190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=808190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=808190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}