Frans Malherbe

Frans Malherbe
Full name Jozua Francois Malherbe
Date of birth 14 March 1991
Place of birth Trompsburg, South Africa
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight 123 kg (271 lb; 19 st 5 lb)
School Paarl Boys' High School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Tighthead prop
Current team Stormers / Western Province
Youth career
2007–2012 Western Province
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2011– Western Province 41 (0)
2011–present Stormers 124 (10)
Correct as of 23 July 2022
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2013–present South Africa 67 (5)
Correct as of 17 October 2023

Jozua Francois Malherbe (born 14 March 1991) is a South African rugby union professional player. He plays as a tighthead prop for the Stormers in the United Rugby Championship and South Africa national team.

Early life

Malherbe attended Paarl Boys' High School, where he also captained the First Rugby team to victory in Interschools in his Matric year.

Career

Malherbe made both his senior Western Province and Stormers debuts in 2011, however it was the following year when he fully cemented his place in both sides. He played in every Stormers match during the 2012 Super Rugby season and only missed one match in Western Province's successful 2012 Currie Cup Premier Division campaign when he provided injury cover for South Africa squad on their tour of Australasia. He was a starter as Province upset the Sharks 25–18 in Durban to become a Currie Cup winner at the age of 21.

2013 saw his reputation grow and he retained his position as the Stormers first-choice tighthead ahead of the more experienced Pat Cilliers who had joined the franchise from the Lions. He made 11 appearances during the 2013 Super Rugby season before an injury ended his campaign and forced him to miss the majority of the 2013 Currie Cup season. He made his comeback towards the back end of the campaign making 4 appearances from the bench and helping Province reach their second successive Currie Cup final.

International

Malherbe had been involved in several South Africa squads since the appointment of Heyneke Meyer as head coach in 2012 without making any appearances. An injury to Jannie du Plessis meant he finally made his test debut on 9 November 2013 against Wales in Cardiff. He acquitted himself well despite facing the hugely experienced Gethin Jenkins on the other side of the scrum. He retained his place for the following week's match against Scotland in Edinburgh, however an injury just before half time saw him withdrawn and his tour ended prematurely.

Malherbe was named in South Africa's squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup. He also scored his first Test try in his career at his appearance off the bench on the final Springbok pool match against Canada. South Africa went on to win the tournament, defeating England in the final.

Honours

Western Province

  • 2012 Currie Cup winner

Stormers

South Africa

Statistics

Test Match Record

As of 8 October 2021
Against P W D L Tri Pts %Won
Argentina 8 7 0 1 0 0 87.5
Australia 5 1 0 4 0 0 20
British and Irish Lions 3 2 0 1 0 0 66.67
Canada 1 1 0 0 1 5 100
England 4 2 0 2 0 0 50
France 3 3 0 0 0 0 100
Georgia 1 1 0 0 0 0 100
Ireland 3 2 0 1 0 0 66.67
Italy 1 1 0 0 0 0 100
Japan 2 2 0 0 0 0 100
Namibia 1 1 0 0 0 0 100
New Zealand 6 1 1 4 0 0 25
Samoa 1 1 0 0 0 0 100
Scotland 3 3 0 0 0 0 100
United States 1 1 0 0 0 0 100
Wales 4 3 0 1 0 0 75
Total 46 31 1 14 1 5 68.48

Pld = Games Played, W = Games Won, D = Games Drawn, L = Games Lost, Tri = Tries Scored, Pts = Points Scored

Super Rugby Statistics

As of 15 June 2020
Season Team Games Starts Sub Mins Tries Points Yellow card Red card
2011 Stormers 4 0 4 52 0 0 0 0
2012 Stormers 17 6 11 693 0 0 1 0
2013 Stormers 11 8 3 548 0 0 0 0
2014 Stormers 10 9 1 607 2 10 0 0
2015 Stormers 13 8 5 595 0 0 0 0
2016 Stormers 12 7 5 602 0 0 0 0
2017 Stormers 13 9 4 664 0 0 0 0
2018 Stormers 6 1 5 125 0 0 0 0
2019 Stormers 12 9 3 623 0 0 0 0
2020 Stormers 6 4 2 301 0 0 1 0
Total 104 61 43 4796 2 10 2 0