De Allende on the next level
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Damian de Allende has made a big step up this season and is now one of the most influential players in the Stormers side.
The imposing midfielder first caught people's attention when he was thrown into the starting line-up for the 2012 Currie Cup final, and now in his third season with the Stormers he is starting to show why those in charge at Newlands have always had so much faith in him.
Although he made his Springbok debut last year, most of his opportunities came in the unfamiliar territory of outside centre, and with Jean de Villiers sidelined through injury this year he has shown that although he can play other positions, he is most destructive at inside centre.
"I enjoy inside centre more, but every opportunity I get I always want to take it, whether that is inside centre, wing or outside centre.
"There is always opportunity to learn different positions and different roles," he said.
Having worked hard on his fitness on the off-season De Allende has been able to make the most of his considerable frame in getting over the gainline regularly, but the aspects of his game which set him apart from some other South African centres are his spatial awareness and ability to offload in the tackle.
He explained that the Stormers have placed an emphasis on keeping the ball alive this season, which is clearly something that has had a positive impact on his game.
"It is something that we have all worked on as players in the off-season, we want to improve our game and if that is speeding the ball up and keeping the ball alive all the time then offloading is something we have to get better at.
"I think we have got better but there is always room for improvement. It is very technical and takes a lot of technique and time but I think as player we are all starting to do it quite nicely," said De Allende.
Other factors which have helped him make the step up this year are being included in the Stormers' senior leadership group and the fact that the centres play such an important role in co-ordinating their gameplan.
"The way we want to play the centres have a lot of responsibility on the field, and we have a senior players group that I am now a part of. I think it has helped me a lot and calmed me down a lot to make better decisions on the field," he said.
Having made such an impressive start to the season, the challenge for De Allende is to show that he can maintain those standards, especially when on tour in Australasia, to prove that he is a real contender for the Springbok No.12 jersey.
By Michael de Vries
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