Damian de Allende on 97 caps and Pieter-Steph du Toit on 95, are set to be the next two Springbok centurions this year.
Springbok centre Damian de Allende is set to become the next Springbok centurion after his captain Siya Kolisi reached the mark against France in November last year. Picture: Steve Haag Sports/Gallo Images
The evergreen Damian de Allende is fired up and ready to get the new international season with the Springboks underway as they take on England in the Nations Championship opener at Ellis Park on Saturday.
De Allende is set to become just the ninth Springbok centurion in history in a few weeks, after captain Siya Kolisi and Willie le Roux reached the milestone against France and Italy respectively last year.
The 34-year-old De Allende is just three Test caps shy of the mark, which could see him bring it up against Wales in Durban in a couple of weeks if he also plays next weekend against Scotland at Loftus.
De Allende was asked what motivated him to keep going, and although he didn’t mention reaching 100-caps, he said striving to be the best and having a crack at another World Cup were among his goals.
Enjoying rugby
“I just want to be better and I still really enjoy my rugby. I think if I wasn’t enjoying my rugby I wouldn’t feel like I am making a difference, whether playing here (for the Springboks) or in Japan,” said De Allende.
“So I am still very motivated. I still want to be the best in the world and chase maybe one more World Cup, which I would love to achieve, and I just take things week by week.
“I know I am getting older, but I just like to stay in the moment and focus on the next task at hand. I know there are a lot of good youngsters coming up, but I personally feel like I am improving every week and still learning from them as well, and that is the most important thing.”
De Allende has played in a number of games for the Springboks against England, including their World Cup final win against them in Japan in 2019, and their World Cup semifinal win over them in France in 2023.
But he admitted his most memorable game against England was at Ellis Park in 2018, which was the second game under coach Rassie Erasmus after he took over from Allister Coetzee, and the first under Siya Kolisi as captain, and saw their first win under the new regime, an entertaining 42-39 result.
England 2018
“The most memorable one (for the team) is probably beating them in the World Cup final in 2019. But the most memorable one for me was us beating them at Ellis Park in 2018. That was just our second Test match under Rassie and I think we were down by nearly 30 points within the first 20 minutes,” explained De Allende.
“We were obviously still gelling together and trying new things out under a new coaching staff, and to stand behind the poles after their third try in the first half, we just didn’t have any answers, because we were still learning and didn’t know much.
“So we just said we are going to have to do what we do as South Africans and bring out our natural ability which helped us become Springboks.
“I still get goosebumps now thinking about it, how we just started being ourselves on the field and felt the momentum swing and the energy change in the stadium. That was definitely my most memorable match against England.”
De Allende also had a few kind words for his teammates Cheslin Kolbe and Damian Willemse, who will bring up their 50th caps for the Boks in the match against England.
“For Cheslin and Gazza (Willemse) they have both come a long way in their rugby careers. They both have dealt with a lot of injuries and have taken a bit longer (than others) to get to their 50th Test,” said De Allende.
“But that speaks to what kind of players they are and their resilience in trying to get better every season. So we will celebrate with them after the game on Saturday and hopefully we can make it extra special for them.”
