De Allende on 'life-changing' decision that paved the way for success

Damien de Allende has revealed how a hard decision he and his family had to make at an early point in his rugby career ultimately helped steer him on a path to stardom.

Springbok fans have come to know De Allende as a powerful force in the midfield, where the quality and consistency of his performances in 2022 saw him rewarded with a place in World Rugby's Dream Team of the Year.

But the 31-year-old has opened up on a turning point that happened way back in 2012 when he faced with a tough decision about where to pursue his rugby career.

It was a decision that required his family to take a bit of a financial hit and back their son's potential - and it paid off handsomely.

"Playing the Varsity Cup in 2012 was a life-changing moment in my rugby career," De Allende said.

"After high school, I went to rugby academy, I fell under Hamiltons under 20, which was really awesome but then UCT approached me and asked me if I wanted to play Varsity Cup.

"There was a bit of back and forth with Hamiltons because they obviously wanted me to stay at the club, and I would have earned quite a bit of money in match fees and stuff at Hamiltons which would have been nice. But, I felt at that moment in time it would benefit my career a lot more to play Varsity Cup that year.

"My dad had to pay a fee so I could get out of the contract at Hamiltons and I was obviously quite nervous, growing up we didn't have a lot of money or anything like that and my parents really did struggle.

"(Something) that I'll never forget was my dad said that I should maybe just stay at Hamiltons for that next season and then play Varsity Cup afterwards, and I told him 'just back me, the opportunity will be a lot more successful than the money at the moment.'"

De Allende's father ultimately decided to back his son, and the rest is history.

He would join Western Province and the Stormers the following year before earning his first Springbok cap a year after that.

"I managed to get out of that deal from playing Hamiltons and I can proudly say that playing Varsity Cup that year, it was a stepping stone to playing Vodacom Cup that same year and then I obviously made my Currie Cup debut for Western Province as well that year and we won the Currie Cup in Durban."