Cobus Reinach - Springbok Legacy

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. On 12 June 2020, Reinach officially joined Montpellier in the Top 14 ahead of the 2020–21 season after leaving Northampton. 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 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. 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. 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. South Africa went on to win the tournament, defeating England in the final.