Springboks: Damian de Allende names the All Black ‘that really does stand up for me’ and his ‘best product’ message to American fans about Greatest Rivalry finale
Damian de Allende during a Greatest Rivalry attack for the Springboks and, inset, All Blacks centre Jordie Barrett
Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry will always have a special place in the heart of Springboks midfielder Damian de Allende. After all, it was in the August 22 opener versus the All Blacks in Johannesburg where he earned his 100th Test cap for his country.
However, that milestone appearance isn’t the only reason why the last few weeks in South Africa – and now this week’s finale in the United States of America – have fired up the 34-year-old’s imagination.
At his veteran age in the game, you’d tend to suggest he has seen everything there is to see in the sport and can’t be taught new tricks, but the opposite seems to be the case for South Africa’s cherished old dog.
Asked in Baltimore to reflect on his style of defending and whether he prefers to battle forwards or backs, he was also quizzed on which midfielders have made the biggest impression on him in all his years thriving at international level.
“A lot of fantastic centres…”
Sharp as a tack, he singled out a 29-year-old New Zealander for the impression he had made on him in recent weeks in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Soweto in a series where the Springboks have travelled to America with a 2-1 lead.
“I just defend what’s in front of me, that’s the way we get coached,” he explained about his approach to shutting down an opposition attack. “Sometimes I’ll have to defend the forwards and most of the time I’ll have to defend against the backs, but I really don’t mind it. I don’t really have a preference towards that question.
“But I’ve been lucky to play a lot of rugby and play against a lot of fantastic centres. Like at the start of my career, I got to play against Ma’a Nonu, Conrad Smith and Sonny Bill Williams and also South African players, Frans Steyn, Andre Esterhuizen and Jan Serfontein.
“But at the moment the one guy that really does stand up for me is Jordie Barrett. His skill set is incredible. He’s got the ability to do everything on the field at the moment, and just to play against him these past three weeks, it’s been a real pleasure.
“I have always liked to learn a lot on the field, especially playing against my opposition, and I feel like I’ve learned a lot from Jordie Barrett on the field, and it’s been incredible to play against him.
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“Every Test match is tough; you play against world-class centres no matter what country you play against, but this has been like a challenge,” he added.
“It’s been very nice, and it’s obviously sad to hear about Quinn Tupaea with his injury, and I wish him a speedy recovery. But all I can say is every Test match is tough and this has been an incredible experience. It’s also been tough, but it’s been an experience.”
When it comes to issuing kudos for the Springboks bouncing back from their opening day loss at Ellis Park versus the All Black to subsequently win at DHL Stadium and FNB Stadium, De Allende doffed his cap in the direction of boss Rassie Erasmus and his phalanx of coaches.
“For us on defence it’s the preparation,” he explained when asked why the Springboks have been able to sufficiently curtail an imaginative All Blacks attack and lead the series heading into its Baltimore denouement.
“It’s the work our coaches do in the background and what they give to us. That’s from their analysis, and obviously a guy like Jesse (Kriel), he runs our defence; he’s one of our defence leaders.
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“He’s the one that takes control of it a lot and the way he speaks about defence, the way he’s proud about it, he brings that across a lot and he gets all the players to buy into believing in what we’re doing is correct.
“So, sometimes on the field it is instinct because there are times on the field where we have to make split-second decisions and sometimes you get it right and sometimes you get it wrong.
“But 90 per cent of the things go into preparation and what we plan for and what we expect to see from the All Backs.”
This Saturday is viewed as a massive marketing exercise in bringing international rugby to the attention of American sports fans five years out from the USA hosting the 2031 Rugby World Cup. Did he have a message for people new to the sport?
“They must come watch the rivalry between us, the Springboks, and New Zealand,” De Allende reckoned. “For us it’s very special. It is a bit hard to sell it as a sport in America because they don’t know rugby as well as we do, and maybe they don’t appreciate it as much as we do.
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“But the best way to sell it is to have them come to the stadium and enjoy the experience and see us play, the first- and second-best teams in the world. That’s the best product that they can witness and experience now in America at the moment.
“So it’s just to see us, the Springboks, against New Zealand in America; that’s where we can sell it and hopefully we can get as many South Africans there but also a lot of American supporters there as well.”
