[ad_1]
Damian de Allende believes he has adjusted well in Munster and can’t wait to make his European debut on Sunday.
The 2019 World Cup winner with South Africa joined the Reds over the summer and made his debut in rescheduled Guinness Pro14 games at the Aviva.
The 29-year-old has played six games this season with Munster leading the way at the top of Conference B with seven wins in a row.
With most of the older players in international roles over the past two months, De Allende has been leading and learning among the younger members of Johann van Graan’s team.
Van Graan, who had coached the Springboks between 2012 and 2017, had previously worked with the international 47 international times.
Champions Cup: provinces start European action
“It was incredible,” De Allende told RTÉ Sport before Sunday’s clash at Thomond Park.
“It was easier for me to settle in Munster because I understand how coach Johann works.
“I’ve worked with him before, so I understand his way of thinking, the way he wants us to play, the way he believes in the game.
“For me, during these last three weeks, I feel like I understand not only the game plan, but also the players on the field that I’m playing with.
“Once I started to feel better about them on the field, I can express myself a lot more and enjoy myself a lot more on the field.
“We have been playing well for the last seven weeks and it has been a great team effort and I hope we can keep the momentum going over the next block as well.
“It’s pretty weird to say, but I’ve learned a lot from the guys at the academy in the last few weeks. I hope they have learned a lot from me too. It’s been a lot of fun and easy to adjust to.
“I can’t believe some of them are only 20 or 21 years old. I’m 29 and I think I act so much more childish than they do.”
“I don’t think when I was that age I was [handling myself that well].
The Harlequins have won two of their first three Premiership games and recently signed South Africans Wilco Louw, Tyrone Green and Andre Esterhuizen, who is suspended for Sunday’s clash.
“Harlequins have a great side,” said the former Stormers man.
“They just signed a couple more South Africans so it will increase their volume in the group … so hopefully the weather is good and it’s not very set-ball oriented so the guys get a bit stuck . it’s going to be a great battle. “
Listen to the RTÉ Rugby podcast on Apple podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
We need your consent to upload this YouTube content.We use YouTube to manage additional content that may set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Review your data and accept it to load the content.Manage preferences
Follow Ulster v Toulouse (start at 20:00) with our live blog at rte.ie/sport or listen to the commentary live on RTÉ Radio 1 Extra; Follow Montpellier v Leinster (start at 5.30pm, Saturday) with our live blog or listen to Sport on RTÉ Radio 1 on Saturday.
[ad_2]