Ex Bok prop notices odd new technique from Frans Malherbe
When it comes to scrummaging alone, Frans Malherbe is widely seen as the best tighthead in the world. The man is just a 125kg blob of scrummaging beastliness.
The Bok No3 has a job on his hands this Saturday though against one of the most formidable packs in the game in France.
In the build up to the Test in Marseille, one of Malherbe’s predecessors in the Bok No3 jersey, World Cup winner BJ Botha, has noticed a odd looking scrummaging technique by the 31-year-old.
In a video shared by SuperSport on TikTok, Botha has seen Malherbe’s hand position when binding to the shorts of his hooker Bongi Mbonambi in a scrumming session this week, and frankly, it just looks weird. The former tighthead posted the video on Twitter and began to explain in the comments why he would take that bind. Take a look:
Some but high pressure scrum training at @Springboks base in France, what you think of Malherbe’s bind on Bongi @FrontRowGrunt,
cant remember him always binding like this? pic.twitter.com/Cw1bpHd96i— BJ Botha (@BJBotha) November 10, 2022
Springbok team to face France in Marseille:
15 – Willie le Roux (Toyota Verblitz) – 80 caps, 65 pts (13t)
14 – Cheslin Kolbe (Toulon) – 21 caps, 53 pts (10t, 1p)
13 – Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles) – 57 caps, 60 pts (12t)
12 – Damian de Allende (Wild Knights) – 67 caps, 45 pts (9t)
11 – Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls) – 4 caps, 15 pts (3t)
10 – Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) – 24 caps, 22 pts (1t, 4c, 3p)
9 – Faf de Klerk (Canon Eagles) – 43 caps, 25 pts (5t)
8 – Jasper Wiese (Leicester Tigers) – 19 caps, 5 pts (1t)
7 – Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz) – 65 caps, 15 pts (3t)
6 – Siya Kolisi (captain, Cell C Sharks) – 72 caps, 40 pts (8t)
5 – Franco Mostert (Honda Heat) – 60 caps, 15 pts (3t)
4 – Eben Etzebeth (Cell C Sharks) – 107 caps, 15 pts (3t)
3 – Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers) – 55 caps, 5 pts (1t)
2 – Bongi Mbonambi (Cell C Sharks) – 53 caps, 55 pts (11t)
1 – Ox Nche (Cell C Sharks) – 16 caps, 0 pts
Replacements:
16 – Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 56 caps, 65 pts (13t)
17 – Steven Kitshoff (DHL Stormers) – 68 caps, 5 pts (1t)
18 – Vincent Koch (unattached) – 39 caps, 0 pts
19 – Marvin Orie (DHL Stormers) – 8 caps, 0 pts
20 – Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs) – 28 caps, 15 pts (3t)
21 – Cobus Reinach (Montpellier) – 22 caps, 40 pts (8t)
22 – Manie Libbok (DHL Stormers) – uncapped
23 – Makazole Mapimpi (Cell C Sharks) – 34 caps, 110 pts (22t)
