Damian de Allende, the Springboks’ World Cup winning centre, has agreed a two-year deal with Munster. The Irish province and head coach Johann van Graan have pulled off quite a coup in acquiring De Allende, who will join from the start of the 2020-2021 season.

De Allende will follow in the footsteps of Jean de Villiers and other imported centres in giving Munster some real ballast in midfield and the thought of him combining with Joey Carbery and the rest of the Munster backline will have the province’s supporters salivating.

De Allende could prove every bit as effective as De Villiers, who made a telling impact with the province a decade ago.

The imposing 6’ 2” inside centre enjoyed a very strong World Cup as he helped his country win the Webb Ellis trophy for a third time, scoring South Africa’s try in their 19-16 semi-final win over Wales and excelling in both defence and attack for Rassie Erasmus’s side. He also crossed for a try in South Africa’s win over Japan in the quarter-finals while his work in the rock-solid Springbok defence was equally as eye-catching.

The 27-year-old, who weighs in at a touch under 16 stones, was a mainstay for Erasmus in the South Africa midfield with his work rate and explosive carrying helping his side over the line in the knockout stages of the tournament.

De Allende, who has won 45 caps for the Springboks since making his debut in 2014, has spent the last six seasons with the Stormers in South Africa but will shortly take up a contract with Panasonic in Japan for the rest of the season. He will then join up with Munster next summer ahead of the 2020-21 season.