He has had a tough time at the Springboks, but now Damian de Allende will have the chance to play his way back into Test rugby when he turns out for Western Province in Friday’s Currie Cup derby against Boland at Newlands.
The 24-year-old De Allende has battled to regain the form that made him one of the outstanding Boks in 2015 ever since he picked up an ankle injury while playing for the Kintetsu Liners in Japan last December.
That set him back a few months as he was unable to do a proper pre-season, and even when he got back into the Stormers team, he had lost the magical touch that saw him voted as the SA Super Rugby Player of the Year last season.
But after being released from the Springbok Rugby Championship for Currie Cup duty this week, De Allende would want to prove to coach Allister Coetzee that he should be back in the mix for next weekend’s showdown with the All Blacks in Durban.
His provincial teammate Juan de Jongh is the incumbent Bok inside centre and is again set to be named at No 12 for Saturday’s Test against Australia in Pretoria. However, De Jongh was superb for Province against Griquas last week and seemed to rediscover his natural attacking flair, and WP mentor John Dobson is positive that De Allende can do the same against Boland (7.10pm kickoff).
“Damian looked amazingly sharp in training. I’ve seldom seen a player come on to a training field and be such a stand-out. And he’s very keen to play rugby. He just wants to play an unpressured game of rugby where he can enjoy himself and express himself, so hopefully that’s the environment he’s found here,” Dobson said at Newlands on Wednesday.
“Like Bongi Mbonambi last week, Damian’s got a point to prove, but like with Juan, he wants to do it in an expressive way – not in a way of proving people wrong, but he also wants to show people how good he is.
“He was incredible in both sessions yesterday. I’ve seldom seen that class injected into a training session like he did yesterday. He is also a very popular figure amongst the players – the guys all enjoy him and he is a down-to-earth (character). You can’t have ideas above your station if you’re from Milnerton!”
De Allende will partner Johnny Kotze in midfield in a game where WP will probably have to win with a bonus point to reach the semi-finals, as in-form Scottish international Huw Jones has a “slight hamstring” injury that Dobson didn’t want to risk ahead of a possible playoff game.
The Province coach believes that De Allende will also prove that he is much more than a “trucker” who tucks the ball under his arm and runs straight towards the defender, which he has often done at Test level this year.
“I think Johnny’s been really good. He helped turn our season around in that game against the Sharks, and we all see Damian as this big trucker, big physical centre. But one of his most under-appreciated skills is his passing,” Dobson said.
“Everyone wants the best for Damian. We know where Damian came from in terms of… I remember him as an uncontracted player on the fringes of the Under-20 set-up, waiting for hours on the corner of Duminy and Voortrekker for his dad to come and fetch him.
“He’s done so well and is such a nice guy – there’s no element of me wanting him to be available for us next week. I would be thrilled if he goes back up. Damian is fit, is trying hard, is keen to play rugby and has been overlooked by the Springboks this week. But he is going to be outstanding on Friday night for us.
“I just think he needs less pressure at the moment. He’s trying very hard. There’s nothing technically that I can fault in his game.”
Scott van Breda gets a rare start at right wing in place of Werner Kok, with Dobson stating that he wants to get Van Breda match-sharp ahead of the playoffs as Kok has started in every game since joining WP from the Blitzboks.
Western Province Team
15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Scott van Breda, 13 Johnny Kotze, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Kobus van Dyk, 6 Rynhardt Elstadt, 5 Chris van Zyl (captain), 4 Jan de Klerk, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Mike Willemse, 1 Alistair Vermaak.
Bench: 16 Neil Rautenbach, 17 JC Janse van Rensburg, 18 JP Smith, 19 David Ribbans, 20 Jurie van Vuuren, 21 Jano Vermaak, 22 Werner Kok.
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