Batten down the hatches

29 April 2016 - 02:16 By Craig Ray

Injury kept De Allende out of the first six rounds of the campaign and mild concussion forced De Jongh to miss last week's 40-22 win against the Reds.By choosing the two playmakers, coach Robbie Fleck has asked De Jongh to move to outside centre to accommodate De Allende's more natural playmaking skills.The pair will be up against a formidable duo in Kurtley Beale and Israel Folau in the Waratahs midfield, although the way the Australians play means direct contact between the two sets of centres will be less than you would expect."Folau is a great rugby player and footballer and he adapts to any situation," Fleck said. "They don't play him in any specific position. He loiters at fullback or first receiver, which is what they do with Beale and [flyhalf] Bernard Foley as well. It's difficult to say we can exploit Folau at centre because he plays everywhere. It's difficult to defend against a team like that."Juan and Damian were our first choice at the start of the year so it's nice to have them back together. It brings some leadership to the backline. Juan has been alone as a leader at the back at times, so it's good to have an experienced head around him."De Jongh added: "It's going to be an interesting challenge against their centre pairing. We're not too worried about them because they move their players around whether it's on defence or on attack."Last week I missed out because of a mild concussion, but it was a precaution. I have to make sure I'm not rusty and need to be in form ... It's the last game of phase two for our campaign before a break so we have to keep up the standards."I will have to brush up on my 13 skills and now it's about getting the combination with Damian going."Fleck has also changed his back row for the umpteenth time this season, with Sikhumbuzo Notshe moving from openside to blindside flank, Schalk Burger back at No 8 and Nizaam Carr operating at openside.Rynhardt Elstadt retains his place at No 4 lock with JD Schickerling staying on the bench while the props rotate. Frans Malherbe and JC Janse van Rensburg start in place of Oli Kebble and Vincent Koch, who both drop to the bench...

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