Damian de Allende was erroneously named man of the match after the Springboks\u2019 45-21 victory over England at Ellis Park, according to a report.<\/p>\n
This was after a communication mistake by home broadcaster SuperSport, as the award was supposed to go to full-back Damian Willemse, who was earning his 50th cap for South Africa.<\/p>\n
Wrong Damian collects Man of the Match Award<\/p>\n
Willemse enjoyed a sterling performance in the victory over England, bossing the aerial game while he also executed a stunning 50:22 in what was a memorable night for the youngest-ever double Rugby World Cup winner.<\/p>\n
His efforts were recognised by the SuperSport commentators who had picked him out as the man of the match, according to Rapport; however, it was fellow Springbok<\/a> and Damian, De Allende<\/a>, who mistakenly appeared to collect the gong.<\/p>\n The report states that it\u2019s unclear as to how the mishap occurred but that it was in fact Willemse<\/a> who was supposed to claim the award.<\/p>\n Still, the 28-year-old was busy after his milestone match, reaching the 50-cap mark along with Cheslin Kolbe after eight years as a Springbok.<\/p>\n Springboks v England: Five takeaways as 24-point margin \u2018flattered\u2019 visitors while \u2018flawless\u2019 Damian Willemse sweetened special night<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt is a very special occasion,\u201d he told SuperSport after the victory. \u201cNot only for myself and Cheslin, but for Paul [de Villiers] as well, making his debut, and Ben-Jason [Dixon] coming in late. I\u2019m really proud of the team.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a really good team performance; we implemented our plans really well at 15-20 minutes and then gave England a little bit of a sniff into the game. But at half-time the coaches and the management came up with good solutions, and we implemented those solutions in the second half, so very proud.<\/p>\n \u201cMy family\u2019s here, and Cheslin said it to me earlier that it\u2019s been a journey, eight years for us both to get here, and shout out to him as well for all the hardship he had to go through and sticking with the journey \u2013 we are all so proud of him, it\u2019s special.\u201d<\/p>\n Nations Championship Team of the Week: Five Springboks make the cut, including \u2018sky-owning\u2019 Damian Willemse, while All Blacks enjoy \u2018lightning service\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Springboks reaction to late changes<\/p>\n The Springboks had to respond to late changes to the matchday 23 with Eben Etzebeth and Siya Kolisi withdrawing from the team and were replaced by De Villiers and Cam Hanekom, the former making his Test debut and the latter earning just his second cap.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m very proud of the guys who stepped in, and with the coaches \u2013 the way they managed everything with the chaos and one going down, then we\u2019re good, and another one goes down,\u201d Willemse added.<\/p>\n