Damian de Allende’s world: Onsens, being a dad and helping Springboks ‘score beautiful tries’
It’s hard to believe that Damian de Allende is talking about his “age” and his future in the Springbok team.
It feels like just the other day that the strapping midfielder made his Western Province and Stormers debuts, followed by his first Test against Argentina in Pretoria in 2014.
His good looks, calm demeanour and abrasive style of play could see him being portrayed as a superhero of sorts.
But ‘Milnerton’s finest’ has been operating for 11 years at the highest level already, and the 32-year-old is now enjoying onsens (hot spring baths) in Japan, where he plays his club rugby for the Saitama Wild Knights.
“In Japan, I’m only away for one night at most, and I am back home that same day of the game. To wake up in your own bed on a Sunday morning, and then spend time with the family … Sometimes I go to the onsen (hot spring baths) on a Sunday, and when I get back to training on a Monday, I feel very refreshed again,” De Allende said ahead of yesterday’s 18-12 victory over the All Blacks at Cape Town Stadium.
“I was there in 2015, and I am always quite aware and respectful of other people’s cultures. I try to buy into it quite quickly, so that there is no drama in between!
“We played Japan in Kumagaya before the World Cup in 2019, and we got a proper taste of an onsen, and how it should be. Guys like Willie (le Roux) had been there before and also helped us quite a bit.
“To go to the local onsen in Kumagaya, where I stay, is incredible. There are a few people who might know rugby, but probably 95% of them don’t! So I can actually sit there in the sauna and do some nice peace-out time, and get some nice recovery in.”
De Allende said that he signed a three-year contract extension with the Wild Knights this year, but didn’t rule out a return home to the Stormers in Cape Town “if I’m still playing” ahead of the 2027 World Cup.
He earned his 84th cap against the All Blacks yesterday, and has become a senior statesman at the Boks, with coach Rassie Erasmus having said that he has even been a vice-captain in certain matches.
He is determined to make it to the next World Cup in Australia, along with the rest of his “older teammates”, and feels that the evolution in the Bok attack under new assistant coach Tony Brown is just the motivation to keep on improving.
“We are in a very good space. Rassie has helped us a lot, and we’ve come a long way with him and the coaching staff. We’ve got Tony Brown and Jerry (Flannery, Bok defence coach) there now, which is incredible. The way we’ve developed our game is exciting – we are moving in the right direction,” De Allende said.
“For me at 32, I am learning a lot more, especially in international rugby as well with the way that Jerry and Tony think.
“It’s nice at my age now to still learn and get better. With saying that, I am still going to make a few mistakes – like I did last weekend (where his pass was intercepted by Jordie Barrett for an All Black try). But us as a squad are getting better, and we are moving in the right direction.”
De Allende – who stands at 1.89m and 101kg – has often had to suppress his excellent passing skills for the team’s sake by taking the ‘crash-ball’ option straight into the defence to get the Boks over the advantage line.
But he is delighted that a more holistic approach is being adopted by the world champions these days, with Brown having said that he is the best passer of a ball at the Boks.
“Obviously it wasn’t necessarily just my role to carry up, but I also, like, in terms of playing and how momentum swings in trying to get the forwards on the front foot, sometimes you have to just dig deep and get your head stuck in there,” he said.
“I will always put the team first, and whether I need to carry or make a pass. Fortunately now at my age, I can make more passes than carries!
“But in saying that, I will still do the hard graft when it’s needed – and the rest will take care of itself. Then the passes will come off a bit better, and I can start putting the guys in more space and start scoring more beautiful tries.
“Even before, I met Tony Brown, working with Robbie Deans at Panasonic Wild Knights. He was incredible, because when I got there, he knew what my struggle was in contact. I think for him, it felt like every time we were under pressure, I would just take the ball up as I wanted to take the pressure off the other players.
“He just got me into a mindset where I must just shift the ball – because the more I shift the ball, the times I do carry, I will only maybe have one tackler on me … or less than two or three sometimes!
“So, he just got me into the mindset of rather moving the ball first, and then I can look to carry the ball up. That changed my game a lot: it helped me a lot, especially in terms of a mindset.
“Tony Brown worked at Panasonic as well, so he understood it, and the moment he came in here and spoke to us about it, I already clicked as well.
“For us, it’s a massive benefit to have someone like Tony involved in Springbok rugby. He is the first New Zealand coach that’s ever coached the Springboks.
“It’s good for us to get his knowledge and his mindset, and for him to help us adapt our game.
“I’m 32, and we’ve got a lot of older guys in the squad! Always at this age, it can be quite tough to adjust to something new. But the most incredible thing is how everyone has adjusted – and I’m speaking of all the guys in their 30s!
“Everyone has bought into this new game plan and ideal of moving the ball, and I think that’s the most important thing. For me, it’s nice to make a pass on the field, but it’s also made a big impact on our game, with the work that Tony does with the forwards – for them to move the ball as well.
“We’ve got great ball-carriers at the Springboks, but I’ve always felt that we probably lacked a bit of skill-set, and Felix (Jones) and Jacques (Nienaber) helped us a lot with that.
“Now Tony’s helping us even more with that, with understanding where the space is and trying to get into that space. We want to attack the space, and I think in the past, we thought the space was through them the whole time.
“Playing against international teams, especially New Zealand, you are not going to dominate every contact. They are great, tough players and incredibly physical, so if you think you are just going to be dominant the whole time, you probably aren’t made for Test rugby.
“So, it’s just that balance of Tony Brown keeping us aware of where the space is, and moving the ball into that space instead of just trying to go through them all the time.”
De Allende is married to Domenica Vigliotti, is a doting dad to son Gabriel (3) and daughter Allessia (1), and described being a family man as “incredible”.
“I had my wife and kids in Joburg last week, and to have both the kids in the room with us was, I think, tougher than a Test match!” he said.
“I love being a father. Like everything else, it has its challenges. We travel quite a bit, so it’s quite tough and I do miss out on their lives quite a bit. But in saying that, it’s incredible.”
On the pitch, De Allende said that he was taking it year by year on the journey to the 2027 World Cup, but that he was rankled by Erasmus’ decision to change the team drastically for the second Wallaby Test in Perth a few weeks ago in the name of building squad depth: “I am flippen disappointed still because I always want to play.”
But he understands the bigger picture over the next few years, and aims to keep up with the rest of the team in training and matches and not “almost be pulling the guys down”.
With the new emphasis on attack, though, it may just be the fresh start that De Allende and his fellow double World Cup winners need to keep going.
“I think a guy like Tony coming in at the right time has opened my eyes a lot. I learnt quite a lot in Japan before I met Tony, but for the forwards and other backline players who didn’t meet him before, it’s very exciting for them because they understand now that we can’t just run through teams,” he said.
“We can actually move the ball and go through other spaces. As long as we keep buying into that plan and keep developing – and are staying fit and are hungry to play – then I don’t see why all of us can’t go to the next World Cup, even at around 35, 36 maybe.
“But Johnny Sexton played until he was 38, and he was a fantastic player. He was still competitive and in his prime at 38, playing great rugby.
“There is no reason why we can’t do it – as long as we are adapting to what the coaches want, and are still working hard and keeping up with the rest of the squad.”