Sale Sharks lock Cobus Wiese is to leave the club at the end of the season to return to his native South Africa.
The 26-year-old has spent four years with Sale since joining from DHL Stormers in 2020.
He has played nearly 80 games for the club, scoring five tries.
“Cobus leads by example and has earnt the respect and adoration of the group both on a professional and a personal level,” said Sale’s director of rugby Alex Sanderson.
“He will be missed by all of us on so many levels.”
‘Wildly excitable’
As he departs, another South African lock will arrive at the club next season in Le Roux Roets.
But Sanderson highlighted the immense contribution that Wiese, whose older brother Jasper plays for Leicester Tigers, has made to the north west club.
“He’s the most polite and courteous of people off the field, but the most wildly excitable man on the field, and on a night out,” Sanderson told the club’s website.
“To say Cobus wears his heart on his sleeve is to do him a disservice with regards to his emotional commitment for which his body has paid the price on occasion.”
