Johannesburg - Despite filling the shoes of Jean de Villiers at inside centre with aplomb, Damian de Allende believes his proclaimed mentor would help any young player to reach his potential.
De Allende has been in superb form for the Springboks in the recent Rugby Championship Tests and delivered another top performance in his side’s 27-20 loss to New Zealand at Ellis Park on Saturday.
Many believe De Allende’s form in the number 12 jersey could be reducing the chances of De Villiers making it back for the Boks for the World Cup starting in September, as he attempts to complete his recovery from a horror knee injury last year.
“I don’t think Jean sees it that way and I don’t see it that way,” said De Allende.
“You’re going to compete for a position wherever you go, and Jean and I understand that. Jean just helps me no matter what, be it on and off the field and I can learn a lot from him.
“Jean de Villiers has been one of my mentors. It was awesome to see him come back from a bad injury and he still gives me a lot of motivation and confidence.”
The combination of De Allende, 23 years, and outside centre Jesse Kriel has also proved a great fit for the Springboks.
“I’m enjoying 12, I like to get stuck in, in the middle and in the heat of things,” said De Allende.
“It’s going well with Jesse. I think in these past two weeks, it’s gone well but we’re still trying to learn from each other. We’ve still got a long way to go, hopefully we can keep on improving.”
Coming up against possibly the best centre combination in world rugby in Conrad Smith and Ma’a Nonu, De Allende believed the Bok paring acquitted themselves well.
“It was exciting for us, Nonu and Smith have been world-class players for the past 10 years now,” said De Allende.
“Against them you it’s nice knowing you will test yourself against the best. I think we both had decent games.”
The Springboks had their chances to win the game, but a mixture of poor finishing and composure cost the hosts the match.
“We need to improve on our finishing, when you play against a quality side like the All Blacks and Australia. If you don’t take all your opportunities, it can come back at the end of the game to bite you. It proved to be the case last week and this week.
“We’re close. We’ve got another two Test matches against Argentina and hopefully we can make improvements there and take that to the World Cup.”
ANA