Stage set for De Allende return

Cape Town - Damian de Allende is back.

Having been named on the bench for Friday night's Super Rugby clash between the Stormers and the Sunwolves at Newlands, the 24-year-old is set for his first appearance of the season after having been sidelined by a serious ankle injury. 

His return comes at the perfect time for the Stormers after a week in which they lost both Eben Etzebeth (4-6 weeks) and Kurt Coleman (9 months) to injury. 

De Allende was one of the standout Springbok performers in 2015 and his return is also good news for whoever the new Springbok coach is ahead of the June Tests against Ireland.

Stormers coach Robbie Fleck is as pleased as anybody to have De Allende back. 

"He’s been out for quite some time. We had to hold him back … it was quite a big injury," the coach said in the build-up to the Sunwolves match.

"It’s fantastic having him back, just having him out on the training paddock … you can see immediately the influence he has on the youngsters in terms of the way he thinks about the game and his physicality.

"He brings a wealth of experience.

"He certainly was a world class player at the World Cup but I’ve got a responsibility to bring him back easily and manage him. I don’t want to just throw him into the deep end."

The return of De Allende does give Fleck more options in his midfield, with Juan de Jongh now able to move back his more familiar position at outside centre. 

Friday night's match kicks off at 19:00.

Teams:

Stormers

15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Johnny Kotze, 12 Juan de Jongh (co-captain), 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Schalk Burger, 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4 JD Schickerling, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Oli Kebble