‘Boks, England matches are always special’ — Cobus Reinach

As the most experienced scrumhalf in the Springbok squad, Cobus Reinach looks set to be part of the matchday squad when the world champions take on England at Twickenham on Saturday in arguably their biggest game of the tour in a match the No 9 says will be as big as every other contest between the two nations.

Reinach didn’t feature at all against Scotland last weekend when the Boks opened their UK tour with a 32-15 win at Murrayfield, coach Rassie Erasmus opting to start the Test with Jaden Hendrikse at scrumhalf and Grant Williams playing off the bench, as the only backline substitute.

But, having fulfilled media duties on Tuesday, Reinach looks set to be a part of the Bok team on Saturday, either as a starter or bench player, with much depending on how many forwards and backs Erasmus decides to put on his bench.

Either way, Reinach says England Tests are always big occasions and he’s expecting nothing less this weekend, especially with the Boks’ hosts coming off back-to-back Autumn Series loses to New Zealand and Australia.

“Every Test against England is special and it’s always a big rivalry,” said the 34-year-old on Tuesday.
“We’ve played each other at both of the last World Cups, in the final (2019) and in the semi-final (2023) and those were close games … and we’re expecting them to come out this weekend wanting to win.

“They’re under some pressure, with those close losses, but we’re just going to go out there and keep doing what we do.”

Playing under Tony Brown

With a new attack coach in New Zealander Tony Brown working with the Boks this season, plenty of the focus has been on the world champions’ attacking play. Reinach said he was “absolutely loving it” when asked how he rated working with Brown.

“Tony came in and changed the way we see attack,” said the scrumhalf.

“He’s taught us how to be brave on attack, how the 9s can take a step or two before deciding to pass. It’s nice to have the ball in hand and not always just pass off the deck. It’s been really good for us and everyone’s bought in.”

Having played Scotland last Sunday, the Boks had their first field training session on Tuesday, with Erasmus set to name his team for Saturday’s match on Thursday. The good news is there are no serious injuries in the camp.