Jozua Francois Malherbe (born 14 March 1991) is a South African

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

professional player. He plays as a

tighthead prop In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...

for the South Africa national team and the in the

United Rugby Championship The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

Early life

Malherbe attended

Paarl Boys' High School Paarl Boys' High School, known in Afrikaans as Hoër Jongenskool Paarl (also known as Boishaai) is one of the oldest schools in South Africa, built in 1868. The school is situated in Paarl, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The ...

, 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 The 2012 Super Rugby season was the second season of the current 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition, which involves teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. For sponsorship reasons, this competition is known as FxPro Super R ...

and only missed one match in Western Province's successful

2012 Currie Cup Premier Division The 2012 Currie Cup Premier Division was the 74th season in the competition since it started in 1889 and was contested from 11 August to 27 October 2012. The tournament (known as the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division for sponsorship reasons) is the ...

campaign when he provided injury cover for squad on their tour of

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...

. He was a starter as Province upset the 25–18 in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

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 . He made 11 appearances during the

2013 Super Rugby season The 2013 Super Rugby season was the third season of the new 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition involving teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The tournament was won by the Chiefs, who defeated the Canberra-based Brumb ...

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 squads since the appointment of

Heyneke Meyer Heyneke Meyer (born 6 October 1967) is a professional rugby union coach, best known for coaching the Springboks from 2012 until 2015. Prior to coaching the Springboks, he spent many years at the domestic level in South Africa before coaching Lei ...

as head coach in 2012 without making any appearances. An injury to

Jannie du Plessis Jan Nathaniel du Plessis (born 16 November 1982 in Bethlehem, Free State) is a South African rugby union player, who plays as a prop for in the French Top 14 and the Lions in Super Rugby. He played for the in the Currie Cup and the in Super ...

meant he finally made his test debut on 9 November 2013 against in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. He acquitted himself well despite facing the hugely experienced

Gethin Jenkins Gethin Jenkins (born 17 November 1980) is a Welsh former rugby union player. He won 129 international caps for Wales and five for the British & Irish Lions. Jenkins was the record cap holder for Wales until he was overtaken by Alun Wyn Jones on ...

on the other side of the scrum. He retained his place for the following week's match against in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, 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 The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...

. He also scored his first Test try in his career at his appearance off the bench on the final Springbok pool match against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. South Africa went on to win the tournament, defeating

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in the final. Cornerstone of the Bok frontrow that destroyed the England scrum.

Statistics

Test Match Record

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

Super Rugby Statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Malherbe, Frans 1991 births Living people South African rugby union players Stormers players Western Province (rugby union) players Rugby union props Afrikaner people South African people of French descent People from Somerset West Alumni of Paarl Boys' High School South Africa international rugby union players Rugby union players from the Western Cape