Damian’s taking the tough with smooth

DE ALLENDE FIRED UP TO LEAVE WITH A TROPHY

BY

MUNSTER always got going when the going got tough and Damian de Allende believes it is happening again in his last season with the Reds.

The South African centre leaves at the end of the current campaign – and he hopes it will be with the first silverware earned by the club since 2011.

But the first acid test of that ambition will come against the record five-time European Cup winners on Saturday.

If Munster are to cause an upset against the reigning champions then they will have to be united. De Allende saw a new version of that emerge through the dark times of late last year when the Reds lost to Connacht at home and then were struck down by Covid in South Africa.

“When things get tough, especially in a team environment, it can be quite easy to point fingers,” said the Springbok World Cup winner. “When things got tough we kept it in the group and took accountability for it.

“The toughness started just before we went to South Africa when we lost a game against Connacht and it was just a bit of frustration.

“But when frustration creeps into a team and you sort it out in the group and don’t let that frustration get out it helps a lot.

“Every time there is frustration we just talk about it and get it out of the way. We don’t let it linger any more.

“We have grown a lot and are a lot tighter than we were last year – we have a better understanding not just of each other

but what we want to achieve.”

The 30-year-old, whose next rugby destination has not yet been disclosed, is focused on leaving on a high.

He said: “Last year against

Toulouse in the last 16 was frustrating – not that we left anything out there, just the mistakes we made. Hopefully we’ve learned from that.

“The crowd can keep you up for much longer and Exeter was like that. The atmosphere at the

Aviva is going to be incredible but I think the energy on the field...i can’t explain it but I get that feeling it’s going to be a cracker of a game.

“I want to leave here on a high but if that doesn’t happen that’s

j.nursey@trinitymirror.com just the way things go.”