Aphiwe Dyantyi in 2018. Photo: AFP
MUST-READ: Dyantyi links to Sharks lifeline continue to grow
Increasing reports suggest banned Bok wing Aphiwe Dyantyi will be given the opportunity to revive his career at the Sharks.
Aphiwe Dyantyi in 2018. Photo: AFP
Bok wing Aphiwe Dyantyi, who is currently serving a suspension related to banned substances, recently said he is focused on getting back to the game. In 2019, and on the eve of the Rugby World Cup, Dyantyi was banned from all forms of the game after his mandatory B sample came back testing positive for three banned substances following a national training camp.
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According to the ruling handed down to Dyantyi, he was effectively ‘banned from participating in sport from the date of 13th August 2019 [when he was provisionally suspended] to 12th August 2023’.
Several weeks ago, according to Sunday newspaper Rapport, Dyantyi had moved to Durban where he is working and training in hopes of making a successful transition back to the game once his suspension is lifted.
Apparently he can start training with a team six months before his ban ends, and his move to Durban could open the door for an opportunity at the Sharks, where S’bu Nkosi is heading away from Kings Park to join the Bulls.
A group of concerned people are said to have been assisting Dyantyi after the hardship he endured following the shock suspension, and it’s now hoped that he could make a successful comeback to professional rugby.
In a new article on IOL Sport, written by respected Durban-based journalist Mike Greenaway, it’s stated that the signs increasingly seem certain that the Sharks will extend a lifeline to Dyantyi in the near future.
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Dyantyi previously earned 13 caps for the Springboks
At the beginning of last year, the Bok wing was advised by World Rugby that he had the right to lodge an appeal directly with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland instead of going through the national appeal process.
This followed in the wake of another announcement when an independent panel handed down the suspension to the Springbok wing after finding that he had ‘failed to satisfy the burden of proof to establish that his positive dope test was not intentional’.
The South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (Saids) later released a statement to confirm and accept the decision rendered by the panel.
However, it was ultimately confirmed that Dyantyi would not go the route of approaching Court of Arbitration for Sport, instead accepting that he would wait out the length of the ban.
The 27-year-old is entering his third year away from rugby, but he took to social media to suggest he will aim to get back on the field.
“This year marks three years out of the game,” Dyantyi wrote a few months ago. “A very challenging three years coupled with tears, rebuilding, love and laughter.
“A trial and error period in my life, but two business projects down the line, I wouldn’t change anything about my life journey. The support has been both heartwarming and humbling (Thank You).
“I find myself in a privileged position of building beyond rugby and focusing on getting back on the field, and get back I will …
“I’m only getting started …”
A more recent social media post also shows him hard at work in training.
