Cobus Reinach

Cobus Reinach
Reinach training in 2021
Full nameJacobus Meyer Reinach
Date of birth (1990-02-07) 7 February 1990 (age 34)
Place of birthBloemfontein, South Africa
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight85 kg (13 st 5 lb; 187 lb)
SchoolGrey College, Bloemfontein
Notable relative(s)Jaco Reinach (father)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Scrum-Half
Current team Montpellier
Youth career
2008 Free State Cheetahs
2009–2011 Sharks
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2011–2017 Sharks XV 20 (30)
2011–2017 Sharks (Currie Cup) 33 (30)
2012–2017 Sharks 60 (50)
2017–2020 Northampton Saints 76 (155)
2020– Montpellier 87 (155)
Correct as of 1 November 2023
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014–present South Africa 32 (65)
Correct as of 1 November 2023
Medal record
Men's Rugby union
Representing  South Africa
Rugby World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2019 Japan Squad
Gold medal – first place 2023 France Squad

Jacobus Meyer Reinach (born 7 February 1990) is a South African professional rugby union player who plays for the Top 14 side Montpellier and South Africa national team.[1][2][3] His playing position is scrum-half and he is the son of former Springbok winger Jaco Reinach.[4] He was the member of the victorious Springbok team who won at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, Yokohama.

Early career

Born and raised in Bloemfontein, Reinach attended the famous rugby school Grey College. He initially played age-level rugby for the Free State, before heading to Durban in 2009 to link up with the Sharks, spending a portion of his club career playing scrum half for SA Home Loans Durban Collegians. [1]

Club career

Reinach's first forays into senior rugby came with the Sharks XV in the Vodacom Cup. During the 2011 and 2012 Vodacom Cup competitions he made 17 appearances and scored 3 tries. His good performances at that level saw him promoted to the Sharks Currie Cup squad. He earned his first 2 Currie Cup caps during the 2011 season and over the following 2 campaigns he rotated with the more experienced Charl McLeod for the starting role in the number 9 jersey.[4] He was a Currie Cup winner in 2013 and a runner up in 2012 with both matched being played against Western Province.[5][6] Following McLeod's departure to Grenoble at the conclusion of the 2014 Super Rugby season, Reinach was left as the undisputed first-choice scrum half for the Sharks.[7]

At Super Rugby level, Reinach debuted during the 2012 Super Rugby season however, he only made one appearance which amounted to 1 minute of game-time. His performances in tandem with Charl McLeod during the 2012 Currie Cup saw him see much more regular action in 2013 and the two continued their rotation.[4] 2014 saw him become much more of a regular starter and indeed despite missing 4 matches due to injury, Reinach started all 12 of the regular season matches he was available for and scored 6 tries including a memorable effort in the Sharks first ever win away to the Crusaders in Christchurch.[8]

On 27 February 2017, it was announced that Reinach would link up with English club Northampton Saints in the Aviva Premiership from the 2017–18 season.[9]

On 12 June 2020, Reinach officially joined Montpellier in the Top 14 ahead of the 2020–21 season after leaving Northampton.[10]

International career

Although his father had twice been selected for South African Schools, Reinach never represented his country at any age-group level. However, this did not stop him from making the full Springbok side at the age of only 24. He was called up to the Springbok squad for the 2014 Rugby Championship due to the absence of the injured Fourie du Preez[11] and when another experienced number 9 in Ruan Pienaar went down injured during the Boks tour of Australasia, Reinach was promoted to back-up scrum-half for the remaining two home games of the competition against Australia and New Zealand. Reinach debuted as a second-half replacement for Francois Hougaard in South Africa's 28–10 win over Australia in Cape Town on 27 September 2014 and played a big role in the Boks bonus point try scored by Jean de Villiers in the final minute.[12] He got his second taste of international rugby a week later and was again on the winning side as his team earned their first win over the All Blacks since 2011.[13] On 8 October 2019 Reinach scored a hat-trick in a 66–7 win over Canada at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, the fastest hat-trick in Rugby World Cup History.[14] South Africa went on to win the tournament, defeating England in the final.[15]

Springbok statistics

Test Match record

As of 27 November 2023
Against Pld W D L Tri Con Pen DG Pts %Won
 Argentina 5 4 0 1 1 0 0 0 5 80
 Australia 3 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 5 66.67
 British and Irish Lions 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 100
 Canada 1 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 15 100
 England 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 5 100
 Georgia 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 5 100
 Ireland 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
 Italy 2 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 10 100
 Namibia 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 100
 New Zealand 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 50
 Romania 1 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 15 100
 Wales 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
 Tonga 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 5 100
Total 21 16 0 5 13 0 0 0 65 76.19

Pld = Games Played, W = Games Won, D = Games Drawn, L = Games Lost, Tri = Tries Scored, Con = Conversions, Pen = Penalties, DG = Drop Goals, Pts = Points Scored

International Tries

As of 19 Sept 2023
Try Opposing team Location Venue Competition Date Result
1  England London, England Twickenham Stadium End-of-year rugby union test series 15 November 2014 Won 31–28
2  Italy Padua, Italy Stadio Euganeo End-of-year rugby union test series 22 November 2014 Won 22–6
3  Australia Johannesburg, South Africa Ellis Park 2019 Rugby Championship 20 July 2019 Won 35–17
4  Canada Kobe, Japan Kobe Misaki Stadium 2019 Rugby World Cup 8 October 2019 Won 66–7
5
6
7  Georgia Pretoria, South Africa Loftus Versfeld Test match 2 July 2021 Won 40–9
8  Argentina Port Elizabeth, South Africa Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium 2021 Rugby Championship 14 August 2021 Won 32–12
9  Italy Genoa, Italy Stadio Luigi Ferraris 2022 Autumn Nations Series 19 November 2022 Won 63–21
10  Romania Bordeaux, France Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux 2023 Rugby World Cup 17 September 2023 Won 76–0
11
12
13  Tonga Marseille, France Stade Vélodrome 2023 Rugby World Cup 1 October 2023 Won 49–18

References

  1. ^ a b "SA Rugby Player Profile – Cobus Reinach". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  2. ^ "Cobus Reinach ESPN Scrum Player Profile". SA Rugby. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  3. ^ "Saints sign Springbok scrum-half".
  4. ^ a b c "Cobus Reinach itsrugby Player Statistics". itsrugby. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  5. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – The Sharks 18–25 DHL Western Province". South African Rugby Union. 27 October 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  6. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – DHL Western Province 19–33 The Sharks". South African Rugby Union. 26 October 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  7. ^ "Grenoble sign Charl McLeod". Sport 24. 23 February 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  8. ^ "Sharks beat Crusaders 30-25 for first win in Christchurch despite Jean Deysel red card for stamping". abc.net.au. 17 May 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  9. ^ "Northampton Saints sign South Africa and Sharks scrum-half Cobus Reinach". BBC Sport. 27 February 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  10. ^ "Springbok scrum-half Cobus Reinach completes move away from Northampton". Ruck. 12 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  11. ^ "Reinach gets Bok reward". SA Rugby Mag. 2 August 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  12. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 28–10 Australia". South African Rugby Union. 27 September 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  13. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 27–25 New Zealand". South African Rugby Union. 4 October 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  14. ^ "Cobus Reinach unaware of smashed RWC record". SA Rugby. 9 October 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  15. ^ "England 12-32 South Africa: Springboks win World Cup for record-equalling third time". BBC. 2 November 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2019.