New Zealand rugby greats have hailed Damian de Allende as the Springboks’ not-so-secret weapon for the Rugby Championship, calling him a match-winner tailor-made for Rassie Erasmus’ game plan.
The Springboks are hard at work in camp ahead of back-to-back Tests against the Wallabies at Ellis Park and Cape Town Stadium, and according to a trio of former Test stars, De Allende will be central to any South African success over the next few months.
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Former All Black wing Jeff Wilson led the praise, calling the 33-year-old midfielder “critical” to the Springboks’ continued dominance.
“I think he’s a player who’s been absolutely pivotal and critical for the Springboks,” said Wilson on The Breakdown.
“He’s got an unbelievable skill set, he’s got physicality, he’s a high-ability ball player, he’s incredibly consistent. For me, I think he’s highly underrated as a rugby player.”
Wilson’s former All Blacks teammate Stephen Donald agreed.
“The great thing about him too is that he’s tailor-made for how Rassie [Erasmus] is playing at the moment,” said Donald.
“He is exactly what they want.”
De Allende has been a midfield constant for the Boks since 2014, winning back-to-back World Cups in 2019 and 2023 and starting all three Tests of the series win over the British & Irish Lions in 2021.
But according to former teammate and current Free State Cheetahs coach Frans Steyn, the 89-Test veteran No 12 has hit another level under Bok attack coach Tony Brown.
“With Damian and what we’ve seen under Tony, they’ve used the quality of his passing a little bit more. He’s not just trucking it up every game,” said Steyn told Sport Nation’s Scotty and Izzy show.
“It’s good for him – the world gets to see more of Damian. For that team, he is a rock in the midfield. When they face the All Blacks, Damian will play. When you had Ma’a Nonu at 12 and Conrad Smith at 13 … Damian is South Africa’s Nonu at the moment.”
Photo: Johann Meintjes/Gallo Images
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