The Southern Kings announced yesterday the departure of stalwart lock and captain Steven Sykes, who has signed a two year deal with Frech club Oyonnax from the end of the Super Rugby season.
We got to know Sykes as a rugby player from his time at the Sharks. He successfully came through the ranks after moving to Durban to join the Sharks Academy in 2003. In 2005 he made his senior debut for the Wildebeest, as they were known then, and the rest is history.
In his seven years with the Sharks, Sykes established himself as a first choice lock. He played well over a hundred Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup matches including sixty nine Super Rugby matches for the Union.
As a junior he was selected to represent South Africa at the Under 19 Rugby World Championship in 2003. In 2009 he played the British and Irish Lions wearing the Sharks and Emerging Springbok jerseys. He was later called up for Springbok duty in the third and final test in Cape Town. Sykes also won two Currie Cup medals with the Sharks, the first in 2008 and then again in 2010.
In 2013 he returned to the Eastern Cape, the region he is originally from, to be part of the Southern Kings' first Super Rugby season.
Sykes was on loan to the Cheetahs for their 2015 Super Rugby campaign after the Southern Kings were relegated at the end of 2013, but returned to the Eastern Province Kings for the Currie Cup season.
Sykes played his 100th Super Rugby match for the Southern Kings in Round 5 when they faced the Hurricanes, but despite the 42 - 20 defeat Sykes was rewarded with a try.
Sykes said he had learnt a great deal while at the Southern Kings and was grateful for the opportunity to have captained the side this year.
“I have been playing professional rugby since 2004 and this has been one of my best years to date,” said Sykes.
“Everyone at the Kings has been very positive and playing with a group of young players, who are eager to learn and play top class rugby, alongside players like CJ Velleman and James Hall, has also inspired me and helped me to improve my game,” he said.
Sykes said he was sad to leave the Kings, and that Port Elizabeth would always be his home.
“You have to take the opportunities when they present themselves,” he said.
In closing Sykes said his focus had not changed, and he would remain committed to leading the Southern Kings until the end of the Super Rugby season.
Thank you Steven for the memories and all the best with his new venture.
We got to know Sykes as a rugby player from his time at the Sharks. He successfully came through the ranks after moving to Durban to join the Sharks Academy in 2003. In 2005 he made his senior debut for the Wildebeest, as they were known then, and the rest is history.
In his seven years with the Sharks, Sykes established himself as a first choice lock. He played well over a hundred Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup matches including sixty nine Super Rugby matches for the Union.
As a junior he was selected to represent South Africa at the Under 19 Rugby World Championship in 2003. In 2009 he played the British and Irish Lions wearing the Sharks and Emerging Springbok jerseys. He was later called up for Springbok duty in the third and final test in Cape Town. Sykes also won two Currie Cup medals with the Sharks, the first in 2008 and then again in 2010.
In 2013 he returned to the Eastern Cape, the region he is originally from, to be part of the Southern Kings' first Super Rugby season.
Sykes was on loan to the Cheetahs for their 2015 Super Rugby campaign after the Southern Kings were relegated at the end of 2013, but returned to the Eastern Province Kings for the Currie Cup season.
Sykes played his 100th Super Rugby match for the Southern Kings in Round 5 when they faced the Hurricanes, but despite the 42 - 20 defeat Sykes was rewarded with a try.
Sykes said he had learnt a great deal while at the Southern Kings and was grateful for the opportunity to have captained the side this year.
“I have been playing professional rugby since 2004 and this has been one of my best years to date,” said Sykes.
“Everyone at the Kings has been very positive and playing with a group of young players, who are eager to learn and play top class rugby, alongside players like CJ Velleman and James Hall, has also inspired me and helped me to improve my game,” he said.
Sykes said he was sad to leave the Kings, and that Port Elizabeth would always be his home.
“You have to take the opportunities when they present themselves,” he said.
In closing Sykes said his focus had not changed, and he would remain committed to leading the Southern Kings until the end of the Super Rugby season.
Thank you Steven for the memories and all the best with his new venture.
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