I’D LOVE TO COME BACK

DAMIAN de Allende says he’d like nothing more than to see out his career with the Stormers innie Kaap. 

The Springbok centre, 33, currently plies his trade with the Wild Knights in Japan, having also played for Ireland’s Munster and the Kintetsu Liners in Japan since leaving the Stormers in 2019. 

He will be back innie Kaap next week when the Springboks tackle the Barbarians at Cape Town Stadium. 

De Allende, though, says there’s no place on earth he’d rather be, explaining at a media conference in Sandton this week: “It’s always special coming back home, I’ve been lucky enough to travel the world, but there is nothing like South Africa. 

“Cape Town is the most beautiful city in the world, every time coming back I’m like a little kid going down again. Nothing excites me more than coming back home to South Africa.” 

Of whether he’d like to move back home to play for the Stormers, De Allende said: “I think about it a lot. I have two more seasons left in Japan, my contract finishes in 2027. I really enjoyed it there. 

“My body feels good at the moment, so if I can keep up, ideally I would love to finish in SA and in Cape Town. 

“If the chance does come, I can play a season or two in Cape Town for the Stormers and Western Province, I would love to. 

“But we will see when the time comes. I don’t see  myself playing anywhere else besides coming back to Cape Town.”