Wrong Damian! Broadcaster blunder denies Springboks star an award in milestone match
Springboks centre Damian de Allende and an inset of Damian Willemse
Damian de Allende was erroneously named man of the match after the Springboks’ 45-21 victory over England at Ellis Park, according to a report.
This was after a communication mistake by home broadcaster SuperSport, as the award was supposed to go to full-back Damian Willemse, who was earning his 50th cap for South Africa.
Wrong Damian collects Man of the Match Award
Willemse enjoyed a sterling performance in the victory over England, bossing the aerial game while he also executed a stunning 50:22 in what was a memorable night for the youngest-ever double Rugby World Cup winner.
His efforts were recognised by the SuperSport commentators who had picked him out as the man of the match, according to Rapport; however, it was fellow Springbok and Damian, De Allende, who mistakenly appeared to collect the gong.
The report states that it’s unclear as to how the mishap occurred but that it was in fact Willemse who was supposed to claim the award.
Still, the 28-year-old was busy after his milestone match, reaching the 50-cap mark along with Cheslin Kolbe after eight years as a Springbok.
“It is a very special occasion,” he told SuperSport after the victory. “Not only for myself and Cheslin, but for Paul [de Villiers] as well, making his debut, and Ben-Jason [Dixon] coming in late. I’m really proud of the team.
“It was a really good team performance; we implemented our plans really well at 15-20 minutes and then gave England a little bit of a sniff into the game. But at half-time the coaches and the management came up with good solutions, and we implemented those solutions in the second half, so very proud.
“My family’s here, and Cheslin said it to me earlier that it’s been a journey, eight years for us both to get here, and shout out to him as well for all the hardship he had to go through and sticking with the journey – we are all so proud of him, it’s special.”
Springboks reaction to late changes
The Springboks had to respond to late changes to the matchday 23 with Eben Etzebeth and Siya Kolisi withdrawing from the team and were replaced by De Villiers and Cam Hanekom, the former making his Test debut and the latter earning just his second cap.
“I’m very proud of the guys who stepped in, and with the coaches – the way they managed everything with the chaos and one going down, then we’re good, and another one goes down,” Willemse added.
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“They had to problem-solve, but it speaks volumes about the team and the maturity that’s in the team, and I mean we’ve dealt with some serious stuff in the past. The team can handle such pressures whenever there’s a curveball thrown at us.”
The weekend’s result sees South Africa top the Southern Hemisphere table in the Nations Championship, with their attentions now turning to next Saturday’s clash against Scotland at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
Gregor Townsend’s charges arrive in the executive capital off the back of an impressive 47-38 victory over Los Pumas in Argentina and will be looking to claim their first-ever win over the Springboks in South Africa.
