VIDEO: 'A hero of South African rugby' heads to Ellis Park
SPOTLIGHT: Former Springbok prop Julian Redelinghuys says there is much more to Frans Malherbe than just his work in the scrums.
Malherbe will be running out for his 150th appearance for the Stormers in Saturday’s crucial United Rugby Championship Round 11 clash against the Lions at Ellis Park.
The double World Cup winner has been a stalwart for the Springboks and Stormers, and according to Redelinghuys, he is finally getting the credit he deserves.
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“He is one of the unsung heroes of South Africa,” said the Lions assistant coach.
“I had the privilege of playing with him at the Springboks and he has been getting more credit recently.
“He is such a champion of South African rugby. It’s a great achievement.”
When asked about what it takes to reach a tally of 150 caps, Redelinghuys added: “I don’t know, I didn’t get there, but he was just so consistent over the years.
“He was one of the players that I had to compete against to become a Springbok, but he was one of the guys I really admired.
“You can look at his scrums and he is solid there, but for me, his off-the-ball work and just his workrate and serving his teammates are some of the most impressive things about him.”
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Meanwhile, the Lions are bracing themselves for a scrumming backlash from the Stormers.
The Capetonians struggled in that department in last weekend’s 32-33 defeat to the Bulls in Cape Town and Malherbe could spearhead a big reaction in Johannesburg.
“For all of us in rugby, if things don’t go well in any department, you will put extra focus into that for the upcoming week,” Redelinghuys explained.
“Being the proud pack that they are, they will definitely work hard and they will have a hard review as to why things didn’t go their way [against the Bulls].
“We played against the Bulls in the previous game [a 22-35 defeat] and they do have a really tough pack.
“If you don’t get your stuff right on the day, you will go backwards and there is no doubt that they [Stormers] will want to set the record straight.
“They will come out with a massive drive to be better this weekend.
“But we also want to use that as an opportunity and we know if we do things well, things can work in our favour.”
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