Sharks fullback Rhyno Smith will join the sevens academy in Stellenbosch this January as he attempts to make the Blitzboks squad for the remainder of the 2017-18 World Rugby Sevens Series.

Smith recently signed a contract extension with the Sharks that will see him play in Durban until the end of the 2019 season, but the union has granted him a temporary release to join the academy. It is unclear when he will return to the Sharks in the new year.

‘My goal is to play for the Blitzboks. I never thought I’d make it in fifteens, so I always hoped to at least play sevens for South Africa,’ Smith told Netwerk24.com.

He added that he doesn’t have to choose between the two codes anymore.

‘Why pick one over the other if you can do both? If it is for the benefit of South African rugby in general if there are players who can perform fifteens and sevens, it’s fantastic.’

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