Bok attack has improved, according to De Allende
THERE was a moment early in the second half at Twickenham on Saturday that proved once more that Springbok centre Damian de Allende is at the top of his game.
Kwagga Smith burst up the middle into England’s half, and South Africa spread the ball wide through Handre Pollard and then Willie le Roux, who threw a wonderful skip pass in front of Lukhanyo Am into the path of De Allende.
The Bok No 12 ran on to the ball from deep, and instead of putting his head down and trying to run into an opponent, De Allende first stepped inside and out to send England wing Jonny May into a twist, then got his hands through the tackle of scrumhalf Ben Youngs to deliver a sumptuous back-handed off-load to captain Siya Kolisi.
Unfortunately for the Bok No 6, wing Jesse Kriel had just over-run the skipper’s perfect pass, which would have resulted in a try in the corner.
That passage of play showed just how much confidence De Allende has in his game.
The world champions went down 27-26 to England following a lastminute Marcus Smith penalty, but De Allende, who earned his 58th Test cap, feels that the Bok attack has improved in 2021.
“We did score a nice try … (Makazole) Mapimpi scored it in the corner.,” the 29-year-old said.
“I think we have grown. We need to adapt with how the laws are changing, and people want attractive rugby. I still think the way we play to our systems is very good, and that gives us opportunities to get the ball
into the wider channels.
“We’ll keep on improving on our skill-sets in the wider channels, and when there are opportunities … There were a lot of opportunities that we didn’t tak, and I think when we watch this game again, we’ll see that and know that we just need to execute a lot better.
“I think we are on the right path. Our decision-making is getting a lot better, and we are playing a lot more within ourselves, and not just relying on the system. That is where we are growing as a squad, and hopefully we will grow even more next year.”
England’s own attack took on a different shape after they lost powerhouse centre Manu Tuilagi early on, as he was injured in the act of scoring a try.
Max Malins came on at right wing, with No 14 Joe Marchant moving into his preferred outside centre spot and Henry Slade shifting from No 13 to inside centre.
De Allende was impressed by how coach Eddie Jones’ team were able to outmanoeuvre the much-vaunted Bok defence to score three tries.
The last touchdown saw De Allende caught trying to assist Elton Jantjies in defence, but in doing that he left a huge hole for Marchant to fly through, ending in Raffi Quirke racing over.
“After they lost Manu ... they had three playmakers on the field and they got width quite nicely. I don’t think we adjusted well enough to that, but credit to them,” the Munster midfielder said.
“When you try to go wide in a game, you have to execute and have very good passes and execute that skill, and they did that well tonight. So, credit to them.
“We will have a good look at this game when we are together again, or probably tomorrow some time, and then obviously we will have to learn from what they did on the field today.
“The way they did it was pretty good, and I felt they got behind us quite easily with their plan. So we will have a good look at it, and hopefully we can improve the next time we meet them.”