Cobus Reinach
FullnameJacobus Meyer Reinach
Birth date7 February 1990 (age 36)
Birth placeBloemfontein, South Africa
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight85 kg (13 st 5 lb; 187 lb)
SchoolGrey College, Bloemfontein
RelativesJaco Reinach (father)
PositionScrum-Half
CurrentclubStormers
Youthyears 12008
Youthyears 22009–2011
Years 12011–2017
Apps 120
Points 130
Years 22011–2017
Apps 233
Points 230
Years 32012–2017
Apps 360
Points 350
Years 42017–2020
Clubs 4Northampton Saints
Apps 476
Points 4155
Years 52020–2025
Clubs 5Montpellier
Apps 5102
Points 5175
Years 62025–
Clubs 6Stormers
Apps 615
Points 630
Repyears 12014–present
Repcaps 150
Reppoints 195
Clubupdate28 April 2026
Repupdate28 April 2026

Jacobus Meyer Reinach (born 7 February 1990) is a South African professional rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for the Stormers in the United Rugby Championship and the South Africa national team.[1][2][3] He is the son of former Springbok winger Jaco Reinach.[4] He was a member of the victorious Springbok team who won the 2019 and 2023 Rugby World Cup.

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 .[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 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 and . 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]

International statistics

Test Match record

AgainstPWDLTriPts%Won
Argentina1080242080
Australia86021575
British & Irish Lions110000100
Canada1100315100
England43011575
France32011566.67
Georgia110015100
IRE31021533.33
Italy3300210100
Japan110000100
NAM110000100
New Zealand64021566.67
Portugal110000100
Romania1100315100
Scotland110000100
Tonga110015100
Wales43010075
Total5039011199578

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

International tries

TryOpposing teamLocationVenueCompetitionDateResultScore
1EnglandLondon, EnglandTwickenham Stadium2014 end-of-year tests15 November 2014Win28–31
2ItalyPadua, ItalyStadio Euganeo2014 end-of-year tests22 November 2014Win6–22
3AustraliaJohannesburg, South AfricaEllis Park Stadium2019 Rugby Championship20 July 2019Win35–17
4CanadaKobe, JapanKobe Misaki Stadium2019 Rugby World Cup Pool B8 October 2019Win66–7
5
6
7GeorgiaPretoria, South AfricaLoftus Versfeld Stadium2021 July tests2 July 2021Win40–9
8ArgentinaPort Elizabeth, South AfricaNelson Mandela Bay Stadium2021 Rugby Championship14 August 2021Win32–12
9ItalyGenoa, ItalyStadio Luigi Ferraris2022 end-of-year tests19 November 2022Win21–63
10RomaniaBordeaux, FranceNouveau Stade de Bordeaux2023 Rugby World Cup Pool B17 September 2023Win76–0
11
12
13TongaMarseille, FranceStade Vélodrome2023 Rugby World Cup Pool B1 October 2023Win49–18
14ArgentinaSantiago del Estero, ArgentinaEstadio Único Madre de Ciudades2024 Rugby Championship21 September 2024Loss29–28
15New ZealandAuckland, New ZealandEden Park2025 Rugby Championship6 September 2025Loss24–17
16ArgentinaLondon, EnglandTwickenham Stadium2025 Rugby Championship4 October 2025Win27–29
17
18FranceSaint-Denis, FranceStade de France2025 end-of-year tests8 November 2025Win17–32
19IREDublin, IrelandAviva Stadium2025 end-of-year tests22 November 2025Win13–24

Honours

South Africa

References

  1. ^
  2. ^ "Cobus Reinach ESPN Scrum Player Profile". SA Rugby. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  3. ^ "Saints sign Springbok scrum-half"
  4. ^ "Cobus Reinach itsrugby Player Statistics". itsrugby. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  5. ^
  6. ^
  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. 2020-06-12. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  11. ^ "Reinach gets Bok reward". SA Rugby Mag. 2 August 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  12. ^
  13. ^
  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.