Springbok inside centre Damian de Allende spoke loftily about his All Blacks counterpart Jordie Barrett ahead of their final encounter on Saturday in the fourth Test of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry in Baltimore.
The duo have been two of the series’ outstanding players, and they are expected to once again square off in another bruising battle at the M&T Bank Stadium (11pm kick-off) in the US.
For De Allende, it’s all about getting the upper hand once more as he tries to help the Boks to the trophy. Barrett, on the other hand, must find a way to upstage his direct opponent should he want to assert his dominance and give New Zealand front-foot possession.
According to De Allende, it has been incredible to play against Barrett over the past three games.
“I’ve been lucky to play a lot of rugby and play against a lot of fantastic centres. At the start of my career, I got to play against Ma’a Nonu, Conrad Smith and Sonny Bill Williams, and also South African players like Frans Steyn, André Esterhuizen and Jan Serfontein.
“But at the moment, the one guy who really does stand out for me is Jordie Barrett. I think his skill set is incredible. He’s got the ability to do everything on the field at the moment.
“Just to play against him these past three weeks, and obviously I don’t know what their team is like this weekend, it’s been a real pleasure. I’ve always liked to learn a lot on the field, especially playing against my opposition, and I feel like I’ve learned a lot from Jordie Barrett on the field.
“Every Test match is tough; you play against world-class centres, no matter the country you face. However, this has been a lekker challenge (against the All Blacks) and it’s obviously sad to hear about Quinn Tupaea with his injury, and I wish him a speedy recovery. All I can say is every Test match is tough, but this has been an incredible experience.”
De Allende said he simply focuses on defending whoever is directly in front of him, as that is how the Springboks are coached. Depending on the situation, that can mean taking responsibility for a forward that runs in his channel or, more often, defending against a back, but he has no preference as to who he wants to tackle.
For him, it’s all about the execution and completing it.
The Boks have leaked 13 tries against the All Blacks so far, but De Allende says they pride themselves on their defence and the work of the coaches that goes into preparing them.
De Allende and Kriel will start in their 48th Test together as a midfield combination on Saturday and will face the task of containing New Zealand’s attack.
“I think for us, on defence, it’s (about) preparation. It’s the work our coaches do in the background and what they give to us from the analysis.
“Obviously, a guy like Jesse, he’s one of our defence leaders. He’s the one who takes control a little bit at the back, and the way he speaks about defence, the way he’s proud of it, he brings that across a lot. He gets all the players to buy into believing that what we’re doing is right.
“So, sometimes on the field, it is instinct, because there are times where we have to make split-second decisions. Sometimes you get it right and sometimes you get it wrong, but I think 90% of the things go into preparation, what we plan for and what we expect to see from the All Blacks.” | IOL Sport