Former club captain Stephan Lewies will leave Harlequins at the end of the season to return to Sharks in his native South Africa.
The 33-year-old second row moved to Twickenham Stoop in 2019 and won the Premiership title as captain in 2020-21.
Lewies has made 88 appearances in seven seasons with Harlequins.
“I reflect on my seven years at the club with a huge amount of gratitude. I arrived at the club in 2019 with a few suitcases and a girlfriend, I’m leaving the club with a lot of memories, new friends, a wife and baby,” he told the club’s website, external.
“My time at Quins has been unbelievable. It’s hard to put it into words really and say thank you enough, but gratitude is the word that comes to mind and a lot of pride as well.
“The aim for this season is to finish on a high. If there is one club that has proven they can turn it around, it is Harlequins and I believe we can do that.”
Lewies took over the club captaincy from Chris Robshaw in November 2020 and led Quins to their second league title that season, when they beat Exeter Chiefs in a thrilling final at Twickenham.
He relinquished the captaincy ahead of the 2024-25 season, with Alex Dombrandt taking on the role.
Lewies has made six appearances in all competitions this season and has one international cap for the Springboks.
