Damian de Allende (born 25 November 1991) is a South African professional rugby union player who currently plays for the South Africa national team and Japanese club Saitama Wild Knights. His usual position is either centre or wing. He was a member of the Springboks team that won a third Rugby World Cup in 2019 and again that won a fourth Rugby World Cup in 2023. De Allende is a part of a few elite players to have won two world cup titles.

Early life De Allende was born in Cape Town in 1991. He is of Spanish and Portuguese descent. He was educated at Milnerton High School in Cape Town's seaside town of Milnerton, and later attended the University of Cape Town, representing the in the Varsity Cup.

Career Damian de Allende made his first team debut for Western Province during the 2012 Vodacom Cup, in their game against . He made a total of three appearances in that campaign, scoring one try. He was then also included in the squad for the 2012 Currie Cup Premier Division.

In August 2013, he signed a two-year contract that kept him at and the until 2015. He further extended his contract with the Stormers in July 2017 which saw him remain until the end of the 2019 season. De Allende represented the Ikey Tigers in the 2012 Varsity Cup.

After the 2019 Rugby World Cup, where de Allende was a member of the victorious South African team, he joined Japanese Top League side Saitama Wild Knights. De Allende joined Irish United Rugby Championship side Munster, whose head coach was former Springboks forwards coach Johann van Graan. Though de Allende's two-year contract didn't officially commence until 1 July 2020, he arrived in Ireland in May 2020 after the cancellation of the remainder of the 2019–20 Top League and completed two weeks of isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

De Allende made his debut for Munster in their 27–25 defeat against Leinster on 22 August 2020, and scored his first try for the province in their 52–3 win against Italian side Zebre in round 8 of the 2020–21 Pro14 on 30 November 2020. He made his Champions Cup debut for the province in their opening fixture of the 2020–21 competition against English side Harlequins on 13 December 2020, starting in Munster's 21–7 home win. De Allende was named in the 2020–21 Pro14 Dream Team in his first season with Munster.

De Allende left Munster at the end of the 2021–22 season, and returned to Japan to rejoin League One club Saitama Wild Knights, for whom de Allende had previously played for during 2019–20.

International career Of Spanish heritage on his father's side, De Allende was eligible to represent both South Africa or Spain at international level.

In May 2014, De Allende was one of eight uncapped players that were called up to a Springbok training camp prior to the 2014 mid-year rugby union tests. He was subsequently named in the final squad, but suffered a medial knee ligament injury and had to withdraw from the squad.

However, he was once again selected in the Springboks' next squad for the 2014 Rugby Championship and was named in the starting line-up for their opening match of this competition against in Pretoria.

In 2015, he was selected in the starting XV of a South African side against the World XV for a game held on 11 July 2015. He scored two tries in the game, earning praise from the World XV and former Australia coach Robbie Deans, who commented that "Damian has been playing remarkable rugby the whole year and he keeps doing the right things. He can add a new dimension to the Boks".

Having only been on the field for 13 minutes, De Allende was controversially red-carded in the 75th minute of New Zealand's 25–24 win against South Africa on 8 October 2017 for a late hit on first-five Lima Sopoaga, intending to charge down Sopoaga's attempted drop goal. De Allende was not suspended, as SANZAAR stated he should not have received red for the attempted charge down.

De Allende was named in South Africa's squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup. South Africa went on to win the tournament, defeating England in the final. De Allende started in all three tests for South Africa during the 2021 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa, earning his 50th cap for the Springboks during their third test victory that sealed a series win for the home team, and garnering widespread praise for his performances during the series.

In July 2026, after a 45–21 victory in the opening round of the inaugural Nations Championship against England, he was incorrectly awarded Player of the Match after a miscommunication by the local South African broadcaster. Damian Willemse was the actual winner.

Personal life De Allende married fiance Domenica Vigliotti in late 2023 in France following South Africa's title at the Rugby World Cup. They have two children.

De Allende is a die-hard supporter of Premier League football club Liverpool, with the sport being described as his "first love" before playing junior rugby.

Honours South Africa 2025 Rugby Championship winner

Statistics Super Rugby statistics

Season Team Games Starts Sub Mins Tries Cons Pens Drops Points Yel Red 2013 14 8 6 737 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2014 Stormers 14 14 0 1,109 4 0 0 0 20 0 0 2015 Stormers 16 16 0 1,171 4 0 0 0 20 0 0 2016 Stormers 11 9 2 785 2 0 0 0 10 0 0 2017 Stormers 6 5 1 382 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2018 Stormers 16 16 0 1,238 3 0 0 0 15 1 0 2019 Stormers 14 13 1 1,026 2 0 0 0 10 0 0Total 91 81 10 6,523 15 0 0 0 75 1 0

Springboks record Damian de Allende, ESPN Scrum, 31 July 2021 Against Played Won Drawn Lost Tries Points % Won 17 15 0 2 2 10 9 3 1 5 1 5 3 2 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 5 10 7 0 3 0 0 4 3 0 1 1 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 9 4 0 5 1 5 4 3 0 1 1 5 3 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 23 9 1 13 5 25 1 1 0 0 0 0 4 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 5 12 10 0 2 1 5 Total 103 68 2 33 14 70

International tries

Try Opposing team Location Venue Competition Date Result Score 1London, EnglandOlympic Stadium2015 Rugby World Cup Pool B7 October 2015Win64–0 2Johannesburg, South AfricaEllis Park Stadium2016 Ireland tour of South Africa18 June 2016Win32–26 3Florence, ItalyStadio Artemio Franchi2016 end-of-year tests19 November 2016Loss20–18 4Pretoria, South AfricaLoftus Versfeld Stadium2018 Rugby Championship6 October 2018Loss30–32 5Kobe, JapanKobe Misaki Stadium2019 Rugby World Cup Pool B8 October 2019Win66–7 6Yokohama, JapanInternational Stadium Yokohama2019 Rugby World Cup semi-finals27 October 2019Win16–19 7Gold Coast, AustraliaRobina Stadium2021 Rugby Championship2 October 2021Win29–31 8Sydney, AustraliaSydney Football Stadium2022 Rugby Championship3 September 2022Win8–24 9Buenos Aires, ArgentinaEstadio Libertadores de América2022 Rugby Championship17 September 2022Win20–36 10Johannesburg, South AfricaEllis Park Stadium2023 Rugby Championship29 July 2023Win22–21 11Saint-Denis, FranceStade de France2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-finals15 October 2023Win28–29 12Cape Town, South AfricaCape Town Stadium2026 New Zealand tour of South Africa29 August 2026Win33–26 13Baltimore, United StatesM&T Bank Stadium2026 New Zealand tour of South Africa12 September 2026Win43–28 14

Notes

References

External links Damian de Allende at Springboks