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Lions turn to youth, release Kankowski

Cape Town - Golden Lions coach Swys de Bruin will give the junior players in the union the opportunity to showcase their talents and skill during the remainder of the Currie Cup season.

Players like Hacjivah Dayimani, Jo-Hanko de Villiers, Rhyno Herbst and Len Massyn will be harnessed to their full potential to help them make the step up from junior to senior level in the coming weeks.

The union’s junior teams are looking at securing home semi-finals in their respective provincial Under-19 and Under-21 tournaments with teams currently in the top and second position respectively.

As a result, No 8 Ryan Kankowski has been released to join NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes in Japan with immediate effect.

The Lions have released Kankowski with the option of contracting him for the 2018 Super Rugby season.

“We are very excited about the depth of junior talent in the union and feel it is the right time to expose youngsters to Currie Cup rugby. 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,” Rudolf Straeuli, CEO of the Lions Rugby Company stated.

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