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South Africa's Cobus Reinach 'in a good space' after death threat from France fan
South Africa have condemned the death threat received by scrum-half Cobus Reinach ahead of Saturday’s Rugby World Cup semi-final against England.
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Montpellier player Reinach was targeted on social media in the wake of his country’s 29-28 quarter-final victory over hosts France.
Springboks director of rugby Rassie Erasmus highlighted the abuse directed at the 33-year-old by posting a screen grab on his X account.
South Africa assistant coach Mzwandile Stick, who said Reinach is in a “good space”, praised the security levels at the tournament and believes the matter is being handled by the French authorities.
“We’re well aware of the situation with Cobus and his family,” Stick said on the eve of facing England in Paris.
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“We don’t have a place for hooligans in our game. The players do their job to make sure they represent their country and we are here to represent South Africa.
“If somebody has got a problem with that, I think the French authorities will have to deal with that.
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“But from our side, we’ll make sure we protect each other: our players, management, everyone involved.
“We don’t have a place for that in the game. You win some, lose some as part of the game.
“Whoever sent that message to the player, I’m really disappointed about that.
“We’ll keep doing everything in our powers to make sure we make our people proud at home.
“Regarding the situation, I think it’s well handled now by the French authorities.”
Reinach, who played for Northampton between 2017 and 2020, will start against Steve Borthwick’s side at the Stade de France as part of an unchanged South Africa line-up.
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The message sent to him, translated from French, read: “Dirty son of a b****. I hope that when you return to Montpellier you get murdered by French people on the ground. Gang of thieves. Easy to win a title by cheating.”
Many France supporters criticised the performance of the match officials following their elimination at the hands of the Springboks, while Les Bleus captain Antoint Dupont suggested referee Ben O’Keeffe was not “up to the level of the game”.
Asked how Reinach is feeling, Stick replied: “He’s proper. I’ve seen him every day.
“He’s in a good space, he’s got his family around him.
“In our camp, we must also give credit to the French security around our hotels. With all the teams, the security is just another level.
“I don’t think at the moment there is something to worry about because we know for sure we are well protected in our camps.”
Completely unacceptable the French authorities are taking this further,99% of French people who saw this are shocked
Probably used by Spring Bok PR to throw a little dig at WRU’s double standards. That’s what happens when you entertain the possibility of “cheating” by releasing a statement on BO’K ’s (Ben O’Keith this is hilarious) mistakes (I read an article of his 5 mistakes during the quarter, maybe not official) and feeling sorry for Dupont’s loss after he criticised the ref by not saying a thing about it. We know how many coaches and players got in hot water after doing so…
I’m of French origin and I thought the officiating was fair, meaning it was the same standard for both teams. And I was actually surprised that it was fair, I thought BO’K would have favoured the French team, with the WRU’s hope of getting a Northern Hemisphere WR champion. After all they (wink wink) gave Bernard Laporte their backing to bribe the officials who changed the call to host this World Cup…
And by the way I also thought the same would happen to the All Blacks, but Wayne Barnes was at his very best and did not allow the Irish to practice their antics.
And for that I have to congratulate World Rugby although I don’t really like them ;o)
The French fans are becoming ridiculous. They want to unsettle the Boks. Cant imagine why they would do something like that. Maybe those gangsters lost money in sports betting. France should condemn such behavior instead this RP is sensationalizing this thug behavior.
Actually the correct French translation is “You son of a female dog. I hope when you return to Montpellier you are "M….red" by the French _on the field_. Bunch of thieves easy to win a title by cheating." - Not even sure this is directed at Cobus 1stly could be directed to a team given SA teams play the URC and Montpellier might make the HC this year….And I think I may have shouted worse things than this when watching live rugby. Nothing to see here moving right along….
insane