Frans Malherbe doffs cap at All Black scrum: It will always be good

Springbok tighthead prop Frans Malherbe may be one of the best in the business, but the respect he has for the All Black scrum has far from diminished.

A consistent positive from the Wales series was the sustained excellence of the Bok scrum, regardless of the personnel in the three matches.

Malherbe, along with Trevor Nyakane and Vincent Koch, are expected to be cornerstones of a highly functional set-piece when the Springboks meet the All Black in the first of two Rugby Championship Tests in Mbombela.

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The All Black scrum came under scrutiny in the 2-1 series loss against Ireland, where the personnel operating at prop came in for scathing criticism.

In the absence of the injured Joe Moody, the All Blacks lent on Karl Tu'inkuafe, who hasn't made the trip to South Africa.

Aidan Ross, Ethan de Groot and George Bower are the looseheads they'll be leaning towards to combat SA's incredible tighthead depth.

Malherbe, a man of few words, but plenty of deed, said the All Black scrum remained formidable.

"I won't say that there are certain pointers that I can point out, but the one thing I can say is that it's still the All Black scrum," Malherbe said.

"It will always be good. I don't know what more I can say about them, but the one thing I can say is that if you underestimate them, you'll be in big trouble.

"The All Black scrum is still proper and I don't think it has any shortcomings or anything that's missing."

The All Blacks go into the Test on the back of an unprecedented slump where they've lost four out of their last five Tests.

That includes a 2-1 home series loss against Ireland that put All Black coach Ian Foster under pressure.

Malherbe said the