Sport | Stormers boost scrumhalf stocks with signing of Springbok Reinach: ‘A player with great rugby IQ’

Springbok scrumhalf Cobus Reinach. (Steve Haag/Gallo Images)

• Springbok scrumhalf Cobus Reinach will join the Stormers ahead of the 2025/26 season, returning to South Africa after a successful stint in England and France.
• With 39 Test caps and two World Cup victories, Reinach will play a mentorship role to the younger scrumhalves.
• Stormers director of rugby John Dobson says Reinach’s game suits their style of play.
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The Stormers will get a scrumhalf boost when Springbok No 9 Cobus Reinach joins them ahead of the 2025/26 season.

Reinach, a double World Cup winner with 39 Test caps, will return to South Africa at the end of the current season after plying his trade in England (Northampton Saints 2017-2020) and France (Montpellier) for the last seven years.

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Reinach’s arrival will help fill the void left by Bok scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies, who has signed for French club Bayonne. Paul de Wet is also reportedly set to join the Bulls.

Stormers director of rugby John Dobson says Reinach will fit in well with the Cape side’s enterprising style of play.

“Cobus has proven himself a threat at the highest level of the game and we are expecting him to fit in seamlessly here.

“He is a double World Cup winner and his considerable experience will be vital as we develop the next generation of young talent, with the likes of Imad Khan and Asad Moos set to benefit greatly from working closely with him.

“His attacking abilities are well-known, but he is also a player with great rugby IQ and given his knowledge of European conditions and opposition he will provide plenty of value on and off the pitch,” Dobson said.

Reinach, who will turn 35 on 7 February, said he was thrilled to be returning to South Africa.

“It will obviously be great for my family and I to return home, but what is just as exciting for me is to join a team playing such a great brand of rugby.

“I know a lot of the Stormers players well and I feel that I have a lot to offer within their game model, so I am looking forward to connecting with my new team-mates and coaches when I move down to Cape Town at the end of the season,” Reinach said.

Stormers Rugby CEO Johan le Roux added that attracting the interest of a top player like Reinach shows that the project is moving in the right direction.