Springboks and the scrum-half of Montpellier Cobus Reinach has disclosed the type of mistreatment he experienced after their Rugby World Cup triumph over France.

In the quarterfinals, South Africa defeated the hosts 29–28 to send them tumbling out of their home competition.

Reinach, who got the fight started, was crucial to the victory, but afterward, he started getting death threats.

The scrum-half claimed that because he praised referee Ben O’Keeffe’s performance, Les Bleus supporters harassed him. The French felt betrayed by some of the decisions made by the official.

Threats towards him and his family

He told L’Equipe, “I got a lot of messages after the match because I said the referee had been good under pressure.”

“The first note explicitly addressed me, threatening to kill me if I returned to Montpellier.

Then my family began to worry about it. Individuals hiding behind keyboards have the ability to harm your family. This definitely crosses the line because they aren’t the ones playing against you or making choices on the field.

Although Reinach has since moved on from the incident and has played twice for Montpellier, a French team, since the World Cup ended, he still believes that such behavior should be outlawed in sports.

The French have been amazing, so I don’t want to focus on that, but this online hatred against a minority group has to stop in this game, he said.

“These people who told me I was a cheat, that I was going to die, and not to return to Montpellier.”

After the scrum-half said that some fans even advised him that he “had to go to doping control,” Reinach responded in jest, “which is what I did after this match!”

Montpellier’s difficulties

The Springboks won the Webb Ellis Cup after defeating England and New Zealand following their triumph over France.

While many South Africans are still celebrating their World Cup victory, Reinach is concentrated on helping Montpellier advance.

With just one win in their last seven games, the squad is currently mired in the bottom of the Top 14 standings.

Patrice Collazo took over as head coach after Richard Cockerill was fired as a result of those outcomes, and Reinach has released a rallying cry before their upcoming matchup with Oyonnax.

“We must fight as a team. Everyone may go get mad when you lose. No, we need to work as a unit. Let’s not stoop too low,” he continued.