The Golden Lions have released former Springbok No 8 Ryan Kankowski to join the NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes in Japan with immediate effect.

Kankowski joined the Lions ahead of this domestic season, where he has amassed 471 minutes of game time, but the GLRU has now agreed to release the 31-year-old with the option of contracting him for the 2018 Super Rugby season.

‘We are very excited about the depth of junior talent in the company and feel it is the right time to expose youngsters to Currie Cup rugby,’ Lions CEO Rudolf Straeuli commented.

‘Our high-performance department deserves credit for the way in which the strength of our juniors has grown over the last few seasons through the right contracting and proper coaching.’

The Lions stated that juniors such as Hacjivah Dayimani, Jo Hanko de Villiers, Rhyno Herbst and Len Massyn will be given the necessary backing to realise their full potential in making the step up to senior level.

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