Cobus Reinach career profile: quick facts
- Name: Cobus Reinach (Jacobus Meyer Reinach)
- Position: Scrumhalf. SA Rugby says he also covers the wing
- Franchise: Stormers, United Rugby Championship, since the 2025/26 season
- Previous clubs: Sharks (senior debut 2011), Northampton Saints (2017 to 2020), Montpellier (2020 to 2025)
- Springbok caps: 57 and 100 points (20 tries), as at 9 November 2026, according to SA Rugby
- Test debut: against Australia at Newlands, Cape Town, 27 September 2014
- World Cups: winner in 2019 and 2023
Who is Cobus Reinach?
Some scrumhalves run a game. Cobus Reinach hunts it. Twelve years after a debut that lasted three minutes, he is still the Bok you watch when the ball goes loose near the line: a two-time World Cup winner and the owner of the fastest hat-trick in World Cup history. In Paris on Friday night he came off the bench and scored again from close range; our France v Springboks report has the full story. This is how a Springbok’s son became a finisher in Durban, England, France and now Cape Town.
Early life and background: a Springbok’s son
Rugby was in the family before it was in his legs. His late father, Jaco, also played for South Africa, SA Rugby notes; he was a wing, and Rugby World puts his Test career at four caps, all in 1986. Reinach has called his father his childhood hero, and told Rugby World he only understood what Jaco had achieved much later, by watching old footage.
There was a kicking hero too. As a boy, Rugby World says, he practised drop goals through the empty window frames of a house being built nearby. “I’d always pretend to be Freddie Michalak,” he said. When he played his first game for the Sharks, Michalak was his room-mate.
Franchise and club career
The Sharks, 2011 to 2017
Reinach built his name in Durban with the Sharks. Northampton Saints, announcing his signing in 2017, said he had played his whole career there, with his senior debut in 2011 and a Currie Cup title in 2013. By September 2014 he was on the Springbok bench, and TimesLIVE’s preview noted the splendid Super Rugby season he had just had with the Durban side.
Northampton Saints, 2017 to 2020
In February 2017 Northampton announced that he would join them for the 2017/18 season. Their director of rugby, Jim Mallinder, liked what he saw: “His set piece skills are excellent and he is a very opportunistic scrum half.”
In May 2019 he was one of six players shortlisted for the Premiership’s Player of the Season award, and SA Rugby Magazine noted that, with a round of the regular season left, he shared top spot on the league’s try-scoring list with 11. Rugby World says he became a fans’ favourite.
Montpellier, 2020 to 2025
Montpellier signed him from Northampton on a three-year deal in June 2020, alongside his World Cup team-mate Handre Pollard, RTE and SA Rugby Magazine reported. He had 14 Test caps at the time.
By March 2022, when the club extended his contract to 2025, AFP reported that he had quickly become the starting scrumhalf under Philippe Saint-Andre, with seven tries in 13 league matches that season. In June 2022 Montpellier beat Castres in the Top 14 final for the club’s first French title. Reinach was not in the side that night, and his own post on the day, carried in AFP’s report, showed how badly he wished he could have finished the job with them.
Stormers, 2025 to now
The move home was announced in January 2025, with Reinach joining the Stormers for the 2025/26 season, The Citizen and Business Day reported. Director of rugby John Dobson put it simply: “Cobus has proven himself a threat at the highest level of the game.” After eight years in Europe, Reinach told reporters in December 2025 that Cape Town felt right. “The culture is something I’ve missed dearly,” he said.
His first season ended early. In April 2026 he hurt his knee in a 48-12 win over Glasgow Warriors and was expected to miss the rest of that URC campaign, the Cape Argus and The Citizen reported.
He was back in the No 9 jersey for the new season. On 10 October he started the coastal derby at home, and the Stormers beat the Sharks 39-22, six tries to three; our Stormers v Sharks report has the match.
International career
A three-minute debut, 2014
The first cap came at Newlands on Saturday 27 September 2014. TimesLIVE’s preview had him on the bench and still uncapped. Rugby365’s match report records what happened next: he was the last replacement sent on, with three minutes left, on the same ground where his father had played in 1986. In that time he made a run of more than 50 metres down the right that ended with Jean de Villiers scoring his second try, sealing a 28-10 bonus-point win over Australia.
Northampton later recalled that he also scored at Twickenham that year, in a 31-28 Springbok win there. His first ten caps came in 2014 and 2015, Rugby World notes, and then he waited four years for the 11th.
2019: the record hat-trick
Against Canada in Kobe on 8 October 2019, Reinach scored three tries in 20 minutes and 6 seconds from kick-off, which Guinness World Records lists as the fastest hat-trick from kick-off in men’s Rugby World Cup history. The Sowetan noted that he had beaten the mark set by Australia’s Chris Latham against Namibia in 2003. South Africa won 66-7, and went on to lift the trophy.
2023: a second World Cup
SA Rugby credits him with a valuable impact in the Springboks’ successful 2023 campaign, and The Citizen and Business Day both describe him as a double World Cup winner.
2025: a breakout year at 35, and 50 caps
His best Bok year came late. The Sunday Independent counted seven starts in 11 Tests in 2025, with five tries. TimesLIVE recalled that he came off the bench in a 24-17 defeat to New Zealand in Auckland, then started a week later when the Boks won 43-10 in Wellington, a record margin over the All Blacks.
His 50th cap came against Wales in Cardiff on Saturday 29 November 2025, more than 11 years after his debut, SA Rugby noted. Rassie Erasmus called him “a true team man”. Reinach’s own reflection was simpler: “It’s every boy’s dream to play for the Springboks and having done that 50 times is unreal.”
2026: back from injury, back in the 23
The knee injury did not keep him out of the July Tests. He came off the bench against England in Johannesburg in the opening round, Rugby365 reported, and SA Rugby picked him at scrumhalf to start against Wales in Durban. The Boks won all three July Tests, against England, Scotland and Wales, and topped the Southern Series.
In August he came on in the 33-16 defeat by New Zealand in Johannesburg, then started the second Test in Cape Town, which the Boks won 33-26, according to Rugby365’s full-time report and SA Rugby. The Boks won that four-Test series and, by SA Rugby’s account, the first Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry title with it.
When SA Rugby named its squad for Italy, France and Ireland on 28 October, Reinach was one of three scrumhalves, with Morne van den Berg and Grant Williams.
Playing style
SA Rugby’s description is short and accurate: nippy, with speed to burn and the ability to stay calm under pressure. Northampton, when they signed him, said he had inherited his father’s pace, acceleration and footwork.
What makes him dangerous is the finishing. Rugby World notes that he is known for interception tries, and he has never been shy about the work behind the speed: “I always work on my pace and aim to get quicker every year.” The Sunday Independent’s count of his club tries says the rest: 16 in 93 games for the Sharks, 29 in 70 for Northampton and 35 in 102 for Montpellier.
He is more than a sniper, too. SA Rugby now lists him as cover for the wing as well as scrumhalf, which matters on a bench with two backline seats.
Honours and records
- Rugby World Cup winner, 2019 and 2023
- Fastest hat-trick from kick-off in men’s Rugby World Cup history: 20 minutes 6 seconds, against Canada in Kobe, 8 October 2019
- Currie Cup winner with the Sharks, 2013
- Shortlisted for the Premiership Player of the Season award, 2018/19
- Part of the Montpellier squad that won the club’s first Top 14 title, 2022 (he did not play in the final)
- 50 Test caps, reached against Wales in Cardiff, November 2025
- Played in the 2026 Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, won by South Africa
Where he is now: as at 15 November 2026
Reinach plays for the Stormers and is one of three scrumhalves with the Springboks in Europe. For France he replaced Grant Williams among the replacements, at No 22; our Springbok team v France piece lists the whole 23.
The most recent SA Rugby numbers, dated 9 November, predate Paris: 57 caps and 100 Test points, all from 20 tries. Ireland come next on 21 November, and the Nations Championship finals follow in London over 27 to 29 November, SA Rugby’s schedule shows.
Frequently asked questions
What position does Cobus Reinach play?
Scrumhalf. SA Rugby lists him among its scrumhalves and, for the France Test in November 2026, said he covers scrumhalf and wing. He wears No 9 for the Stormers.
Which team does Cobus Reinach play for?
The Stormers. Reinach moved to Cape Town for the 2025/26 URC season, after spells with the Sharks, Northampton Saints and Montpellier.
How many caps does Cobus Reinach have?
57 Test caps and 100 points from 20 tries, according to SA Rugby’s team announcement for France on 9 November 2026. Paris is not yet included in that count.
When did Cobus Reinach make his Springbok debut?
On Saturday 27 September 2014, against Australia at Newlands in Cape Town. He came on with three minutes left, and South Africa won 28-10.
Has Cobus Reinach won the Rugby World Cup?
Yes, twice: he was part of the Springbok squads that won in 2019 and 2023. In 2019 he scored the fastest hat-trick in the tournament’s history, against Canada in Kobe.