Leinster vs Munster | Guinness PRO14 Final 2021

FINAL LEINSTER V MUNSTER
“And we can definitely take that
attitude forward now in this
match.
“Sometimes you get caught
up too much in rugby and
you must not forget to enjoy
yourselves and you can’t
forget what you’ve achieved.
“You might not achieve a lot in
your career, I’m talking about
trophies and things now, but if
you look back and realise where
you’ve come from and what you
did to get to where you are, that’s
a massive achievement in itself.
“Sometimes as players you forget
that.
“When Rassie gave us that
speech I know for me personally
it hit home a lot and it just
allowed me personally to be more
myself and enjoy myself a bit
more.
“It doesn’t mean the hard work
stops but it just gave me that
little bit of extra confidence.”
De Allende had few hesitations
in joining Munster given his long
association with Johann Van
Graan, his former coach with
the Springboks.
The 29-year-old centre
believes Van Graan will not
settle for anything less than
silverware in his Munster stint.
“I know as a coach you teach a lot
but I think it’s also important as a
coach to also learn a lot from the
players around you,” said de
Allende.
“And if you look at the guys he’s
coached, I don’t want to name a
few because there’s been far too
many, I think he’s helped many,
many players in his short coaching
career so far. But I think he’s learned
a lot as well.
“He is still quite young but the
knowledge he’s gained from
the players he’s coached, and
learning from those players, it’s
been incredible.”
27|03|21 RDS ARENA | DUBLIN 53