Could two tackles mean Damian de Allende is back on track?
The Stormers and Springbok midfielder has had to pretty depressing, injury-riddled years. But 2018 has started off encouragingly.
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA – MARCH 19: Damian de Allende during the DHL Stormers training session and top table media conference at High Performance Centre on March 19, 2018 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo by Grant Pitcher/Gallo Images)
If there were two things that stood out from Damian de Allende’s overall performance against the Blues last weekend, it was two tackles.
They weren’t just regulation tackles but two solid hits on none other than Sonny Bill Williams.
Yet those fleeting moments of inspiration formed part of a bigger, more important picture.
The Stormers midfielder completed 11 tackles in the 37-20 win without missing a single one.
For a man criticised for the best part of two years for being an inconsistent tackler, that stat is pretty significant.
“It’s not something I thought about too much,” said De Allende.
“Sonny Bill is a fine player, we all have our moments against him. I remembered last year’s game, where he had the better of the exchanges and I wanted to make up for that this time. Maybe in our next game I’ll be on the receiving end again. That’s how rugby goes. So you can’t get overconfident because of one good showing.”
The 26-year-old Springbok centre has been dogged by a litany of injuries since the end of the 2015 World Cup, robbing him of much momentum in his game.
In fact, it’s even possible that former Bok coach Allister Coetzee never allowed him to properly regain form by leaving him be on the domestic circuit.
So alarming has the slump been that last weekend’s performance was even regarded as a freakish occurrence by some of his critics.
But Stormers mentor Robbie Fleck believes it’s the start of a renaissance for De Allende.
“Damian is on the right track to finding his 2015 form again,” he said.
“He made some big hits and is making good decisions. He is a vital player for us.”
Illustrating De Allende’s guts and determination was that he actually managed to maintain those high standards for 65 minutes before being subbed.
He had struggled the whole week leading up to the match with flu.
“I didn’t train the whole week last week and I just did the captain’s run on Friday,” he said.
“When I came off the field on Saturday I was buggered. I had to go see the doctors and I got a bit of heat stroke and I was low on energy. Otherwise, I’m feeling much better.”
De Allende attributes his improved form to adopting a new, more positive mindset.
“It’s been going well for now. Obviously, I had a good pre-season. When I came in in January I felt refreshed,” he said.
“Last year I got injured in the first game. I’ve just decided to take it week by week and trying to be as happy as I can be no matter how sore I am.”
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