Who is Cobus Reinach: Ten things you should know about the Springbok scrum-half 

Cobus Reinach won his first ten caps for South Africa in 2014-15, but then had to wait four years to add to that tally. Here is what else you should know about the Springboks scrum-half, who has played club rugby in England, France and South Africa.

Ten things you should know about Cobus Reinach

1. Jacobus Meyer Reinach was born on 7 February 1990 in Bloemfontein.

2. His dad, Jaco, won four caps on the wing for the Springboks in 1986, but died in a car accident in 1997 when Cobus was just six.

“He was my childhood hero,” says Reinach. “He passed away early and I didn’t have an understanding of what he’d done until much later, but then I watched all the videos of him.”

3. He says the best advice he was given was to “back yourself. If you don’t, why would anyone else?”

4. Reinach, who made his South Africa debut against Australia in September 2014, scored the fastest hat-trick (from the start of a match) in Rugby World Cup history in 2019.

He scored three tries in the first 21 minutes of the Boks’ emphatic 66-7 win against Canada in Kobe.

5. When he was a youngster, he practised putting drop-goals through the empty windows of a house that was being built nearby.

“I’d always pretend to be Freddie Michalak,” he says. “Then for my first Sharks game he was my room-mate!”

6. He became a fans’ favourite while at Northampton Saints between 2017 and 2020, and he was shortlisted for the Premiership Player of the Year award in the 2018-19 season.

“The villages around Northampton are so beautiful,” he said of his time at the club. “Where we lived had the farm-type feel of back home. There were horses in front of the house and it was so green.”

7. He and wife Frances had their first son, Righardt, in March 2019. He says: “Fatherhood is unbelievable. It gives you 
a new perspective. I’m a hands-on father and help as much as I can.”

He also says of marriage: “My wife and I once saw this expression written on a wall: ‘Walk alone you’ll walk fast, walk together you’ll walk far’. With no one to think about, you can do what you want. When you’re with your partner, it’s about walking the road together, helping each other when you’re struggling. It was a key moment for us.”

8. Reinach says his faith is important to him but he adds: 
“It’s what I believe in. There are a lot of different faiths and people can believe or not believe – it doesn’t matter. What’s important is to be nice to each other and human towards 
each other.”

9. He is known for scoring interception tries and says: “There is risk 
and reward; you have to 
back your decision because 
if you’re half-hearted you 
could get yellow-carded. I always work on my pace and aim to get quicker every year.”

10. He describes his honeymoon as his best holiday. The couple went to the Serengeti and then to an island off Mozambique.

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