Controversial ex-Springbok winger Aphiwe Dyantyi has a new club to call home, after it was confirmed that he has been signed by RC Narbonne with immediate effect.
Dyantyi had most recently been attached to the Bulls in the URC, where he played six games last season, having enjoyed a season with the Sharks, where he made nine appearances the season before that.
RC Narbonne are currently third in the Nationale, France’s third-tier competition.
The club said in a statement: “A powerful and impactful centre or winger, Aphiwe Dyantyi is known for his speed, his ability to break through the defence and his game sense. He comes to strengthen the Narbonne back lines at a key moment in the season.
“After returning to the pitch and playing regularly in recent seasons, the player is now part of a solid sporting trajectory. This signing reflects the club’s desire to equip itself to approach the end of the season with ambition, high standards, and determination.
“Racing welcomes Aphiwe Dyantyi and looks forward to seeing him play soon in the orange and black colours.”
Now 31, Dyantyi enjoyed a meteoric rise through the ranks of professional rugby in South Africa in the late 2010s at the age of 23. He went from a Varsity Cup standout to Super Rugby Pacific to international rugby for South Africa in rapid succession. It was all derailed, however, when he was handed a four-year ban in 2019 after testing positive for multiple banned substances in an out-of-competition sample.
The 6 foot, 90kg wing, who had been named World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year in 2018, denied knowingly taking performance-enhancing drugs but accepted the sanction.
His suspension ruled him out of the 2019 Rugby World Cup and halted a rapidly rising international career.
After serving the full term, Dyantyi returned to professional rugby in 2023, but has yet to recapture the form that brought him to the world stage.
He scored six tries for the Springboks in 13 appearances.
The Eastern Cape-born flyer also featured for the Barbarians against Argentina.