New Zealand rugby greats have hailed Damian de Allende as the Springboks’ not-so-secret weapon for the Rugby Championship, calling him a match-winner tailor-made for Rassie Erasmus’ game plan.

The Springboks are hard at work in camp ahead of back-to-back Tests against the Wallabies at Ellis Park and Cape Town Stadium, and according to a trio of former Test stars, De Allende will be central to any South African success over the next few months.

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Former All Black wing Jeff Wilson led the praise, calling the 33-year-old midfielder “critical” to the Springboks’ continued dominance.

“I think he’s a player who’s been absolutely pivotal and critical for the Springboks,” said Wilson on The Breakdown.

“He’s got an unbelievable skill set, he’s got physicality, he’s a high-ability ball player, he’s incredibly consistent. For me, I think he’s highly underrated as a rugby player.”

Wilson’s former All Blacks teammate Stephen Donald agreed.

“The great thing about him too is that he’s tailor-made for how Rassie [Erasmus] is playing at the moment,” said Donald.

“He is exactly what they want.”

De Allende has been a midfield constant for the Boks since 2014, winning back-to-back World Cups in 2019 and 2023 and starting all three Tests of the series win over the British & Irish Lions in 2021.

But according to former teammate and current Free State Cheetahs coach Frans Steyn, the 89-Test veteran No 12 has hit another level under Bok attack coach Tony Brown.

“With Damian and what we’ve seen under Tony, they’ve used the quality of his passing a little bit more. He’s not just trucking it up every game,” said Steyn told Sport Nation’s Scotty and Izzy show.

“It’s good for him – the world gets to see more of Damian. For that team, he is a rock in the midfield. When they face the All Blacks, Damian will play. When you had Ma’a Nonu at 12 and Conrad Smith at 13, Damian is South Africa’s Nonu at the moment.”

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