Cobus Reinach left the Stade de France pitch looking like a pint-sized Hulk after a standout hour-long shift as the Springboks claimed a 32-17 victory over France last weekend.<\/p>\n
As the veteran trodded off the pitch, the cameras captured him drenched in green paint, suggesting that if you angered him, he would start uncontrollably smashing up the pitch like the classic Marvel comics hero. Earlier in the game, it also looked as if Eben Etzebeth had braai\u2019ed and devoured Smurf.<\/p>\n
Heavy-hands and lower-grade paint<\/p>\n
While South Africa<\/a> donned their alternate white kit for the late-night kick-off clash in Paris, by full-time, Reinach and many of his fellow Springboks had jerseys that resembled something far more similar to their traditional green, with the pitch\u2019s paint smudged onto the kit and the players\u2019 faces.<\/p>\n The reasoning for the smudges? Lower-grade paint and a heavy hand by a British company, Amayse, who collaborated with Trace Sports, the French business usually tasked with painting the advertising on pitches in France<\/a>.<\/p>\n This is according to Trace Sports CEO Jean-Michel Larroque, who explained the mistake that Amayse made.<\/p>\n \u201cThey paint with spray guns, we paint by hand,\u201d he told French publication L\u2019Equipe.<\/p>\n \u201cThey use Australian paints that we had for a long time, but for the last seven or eight years, we\u2019ve had our own, which isn\u2019t perfect, but a bit better. And above all, they\u2019re relatively heavy-handed, while we\u2019re more careful.\u201d<\/p>\n He further explained that the French company took care of the in-goal advertising, while adverts near the halfway line, specifically the Quilter logo \u2013 the main sponsor of the Autumn Nations Series \u2013 was done by the British company.<\/p>\n Matt Williams: Springboks are playing the \u2018best rugby I\u2019ve ever seen\u2019\u2026 Ireland are in a lot of trouble<\/a><\/p>\n