Springbok centre Damian de Allende produced an industrious performance on his return to Munster’s starting lineup for their match against the Scarlets this past weekend.
The 29-year-old World Cup winner sat on Munster’s bench in the previous round, but marked his return to the run-on XV with an excellent display of brute physicality in Munster’s 28-10 bonus-point win against the Scarlets.
De Allende, playing alongside countryman Jean Kleyn, topped the charts for most offloads in the game and was in the top five for ball carries.
Elsewhere, front rowers Pierre Schoeman, Michael Willemse and Boan Venter anchored Edinburgh’s dominant scrum as they edged Connacht 15-14 in Galway. Under normal circumstances this would have been a valuable away win, but with Munster and Leinster already through to the PRO14 final, the result means nothing.
In the other matches of the round involving South Africans, prop Brok Harris and his Dragons teammates slumped to an agonising 26-22 home defeat by Ulster. Treviso, featuring Dewaldt Duvenhage, Eli Snyman, Irne Herbst and Corniel Els, suffered a 29-14 loss against the Cardiff Blues.
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