Damian de Allende on playing in a fourth World Cup? ‘I’ll take it year by year’

This generation of Springboks will go down in history as one of the best teams in rugby after their awe-inspiring performances in going back-to-back as winners of the Rugby World Cup.

The foundation of the team was laid in the 2015 edition of the Rugby World Cup hosted in England. The Boks finished in third place in the tournament after they lost to New Zealand in the semi-final.

Those who made their World Cup debut in 2015 learnt from that experience and would go on to be part of the team that won the 2019 and 2023 tournaments.

End of an era

Captain Siya Kolisi, Duane Vermeulen, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Frans Malherbe, Trevor Nyakane, Eben Etzebeth, Handre Pollard, Jesse Kriel, Willie le Roux, and Damian de Allende all have three World Cups under their belts and two winners medals.

When the final whistle blew at the Stade de France on Saturday night and the Boks celebrated their 12-11 victory over New Zealand in the final, it also marked the end of an era.

Vermeulen officially closed the door on his career, and that raised the question of how many of these Boks stalwarts, who are in their 30s, will make it to the 2027 Rugby World Cup?

De Allende, who was part of the leadership group in France, opened up about the prospects of playing in a fourth World Cup.

‘Tough’

“I would love to say yes but at the moment I have to take it year by year,” said De Allende.

“I am getting a little bit older; my body is taking a bit longer to recover. It was tough this week and last week, it was the first time I have played games back to back and the first time I have played three games in a row since I played in Japan [in 2019],” he said.

The core that has a hat-trick of World Cup appearances embodies what the Springboks stand for on the field; they showed character in the showdown against the All Blacks.

“Tonight was so intense, exactly what you expect from a World Cup final. The guys dug in again and fought hard,” said Bok outside centre Kriel when asked how they managed to close out another tight game.

“As a South African, as a Springbok, you always believe you are going to win. You don’t have doubts. Winning is a mindset, something we train for and that belief came through again,” he said.