Relief as Bok speedster Nkosi is found alive and well

There was widespread relief in rugby circles on Monday after news broke that missing Bulls and Springbok winger Sbu Nkosi had been found alive and well.

Nkosi went missing shortly after it was confirmed he was going to miss the Boks' end-of-year tour to Europe due to injury.

The Bulls released a statement on Saturday confirming that their last contact with Nkosi was on Friday 11 November 2022, and that any attempts to reach him since - including by friends and family - had failed, prompting the organisation to open a missing person case with the police.

On Monday, however, information slowly started to trickle in that Nkosi had been spotted, with News24 eventually confirming that the 26-year-old had indeed been located at his stepfather's home in Emalahleni, Mpumalanga.

According to the report, Bulls CEO Edgar Rathbone and the team's security company SSG Group managed to locate Nkosi after receiving various tip-offs.

Even better, he appeared to be none the worse for wear, showing no signs of physical harm.

The Bulls also released a statement confirming the good news.

"As the Vodacom Bulls family, we are thrilled that Nkosi is safe," the Pretoria outfit said.

"We wish to extend a vote of thanks to all the members of the public who shared information that contributed to our search. We wish to also express a word of thanks to the international community who also joined the call and efforts in searching for Nkosi."

Nkosi was a key member of the World Cup-winning Springbok squad of 2019, but his international career has since been set back by injury and disciplinary issues.

Last year, he missed a Springbok training camp and a Test against Wales because he failed to renew his passport in time.

Nkosi was also sent home early from the Bulls URC tour in October for breaking team protocols by missing a meeting.

Nevertheless, the Boks did not forget about Nkosi and he was initially selected in Jacques Nienaber's 35-man squad for the end-of-year tour.

Unfortunately for the winger, he suffered a rib injury in a URC clash against the Sharks just before the Boks were set to depart, ruling him out of contention.