Sharks confirm early release of Bok star

NEWS: It has been confirmed that Sharks wing Aphiwe Dyantyi has been granted an early release from his contract with the Durbanites.

The 29-year-old Springbok is rumoured to be on his way to the Bulls, but the latter has not been verified.

The Sharks confirmed to Rugby365 that Dyantyi has indeed asked to be released from his two-year contract with the Sharks after only spending a year in Durban and having only had seven starts.

During the Sharks’ Awards evening on Monday, Dyantyi’s photo was included in a graphic in which they bid farewell to those players leaving the province.

In October last year, the Bulls’ Director of Rugby Jake White told a media briefing that he would have loved to have Dyantyi join the Bulls, but that they lost out on landing his signature at the time. Seems his wish has been granted.

Dyantyi will have tough competition at the Bulls with Springboks like Canan Moodie, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Willie le Roux in the mix, as well as players like Devon Williams, Sebastian de Klerk, the versatile David Kriel as well as Stedman Gans who have cemented their place in the Pretoria side.

Dyantyi’s road back to the playing field after being found guilty of taking a banned substance took four long years.

He continued with a rugged training regime and was eventually picked up by the Sharks last year. He made his debut off the bench against Leinster in the United Rugby Championship in Dublin.

The prolific rise of the young up-and-coming Dyantyi quickly escalated after he scored a try on his Super Rugby debut – in the Lions’ opening Super Rugby match of the 2018 season – and he repeated the trick in his first Test when he dotted down against England in Siya Kolisi’s first game as Springboks captain.

He started the next two Tests as South Africa won the series and was a regular feature in the Rugby Championship that season, scoring five tries in six Tests.

In November 2018 he was named World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year.

Farewell brothers and all the best with your new chapters🖤 pic.twitter.com/VeOWl3O8g5

— The Sharks (@SharksRugby) June 4, 2024