Record breaking pair took a while to bloom

A partnership that took root in Brisbane in 2015, has taken the better part of a decade to bloom.

Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel, the muscle men who patrol the Springbok midfield, will on Saturday become the most capped centre partnership for their country.

Their 30th coming together as a pairing will take them past the mark set by the marvellously enduring Jean de Villiers and Jaque Fourie.

De Allende and Kriel are relentless yard dogs in defence, but equally they are head-turning thoroughbreds.

They are now the 'old firm', a title hard earned on the back of unbridled commitment to the Bok cause and there can be no doubt they've put their bodies through the wringer.

Playing in the midfield puts you at the centre of high-impact action. Naturally the rate of attrition is high. Sure the Boks have had winters of discontent, but the fact De Allende and Kriel will only now reach 30 caps as a partnership after first coming together nearly nine years ago says much about the hellish highway in which they operate.

Heavy competition and the selection quirks of four different Springbok coaches also conspired against the pairing forging an early bond.

Though Kriel made his debut alongside De Allende, they've had many partners before they 'found' each other. De Allende who can operate in both midfield positions has played with De Villiers, Lionel Mapoe, Jan Serfontein, Francois Venter and Lukhanyo Am.

Before the start of the series, remarkably De Allende was one cap short of the record with both Am and Kriel, but his partnership with the latter continued to flex muscle this season having developed synergy over the last two years.

Between November 2018 and September 2022 the partnership fell dormant and it is only over the last two seasons that they've forged a lasting bond playing in 14 Tests. That of course is partly due to Am's misfortune with injuries.

Kriel has seized the moment and De Allende too has taken his game to another level. To remain effective and relevant De Allende has had to ride the tides of the modern game.

He told this writer earlier this year of the restorative powers of playing in the Japan Rugby League One at the Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights.

He has learnt much in Japan. It has helped augment a skill set of a player that is widely admired.

Tony Brown, the Springboks' attack coach, was keen to remind that De Allende seamlessly traverses the world of piano mover and player.

“Damian is just such a physical guy in the contact. He can offload and he can get a lot of momentum. One thing you don’t know about Damian de Allende is that he is the best passer in the Springbok team.

“I want to unlock all that skill and ability and push them to become even better than they are.

On De Allende and Kriel's record-breaking exploits, Kiwi Brown wasn't entirely clued up, but he recognises the value the pair brings to the team.

“Both are world-class players, and I did hear a stat that they are the most experienced midfield combination, so that is pretty amazing for them,” said Brown.

“I always want to push the players a lot around what they can achieve in attack and I know Jesse works so hard off the field and he wants to get better in every part of the game.

“He is working so hard to make his attack better and we saw a lot of examples of him being a dominant attacking force, whether he is attacking the ball or moving the ball with his passing game.”