A rivalry within a rivalry: Damian de Allende salutes counterpart Jordie Barrett

For three gruelling weeks, de Allende and Barrett have gone toe-to-toe at inside centre. The former tops the tackle count for the Tour so far, while de Allende continues to be a superb all-round performer for the World Champions in the backline and even at ruck time.

De Allende marked his 100th appearance in the green and gold in the opening Test. Reflecting on his storied journey, the Milnerton native ranks Barrett as one of the best.

"I've been lucky to play a lot of rugby and came up against several fantastic centres," the two-time Rugby World Cup winner told the press this week.

"At the start of my career I got to face Ma'a Nonu, Conrad Smith and Sonny Bill Williams. Then also the South Africans like Frans Steyn, Andre Esterhuizen and Jan Serfontein.

"At the moment, the one guy that really stands out for me is Jordie Barrett - his skillset is incredible, he's got the ability to do basically everything on the field.

"To have played against him the last few weeks - obviously they haven't announced their team yet - but it's been a real pleasure facing him.

"I always like to learn a lot on the field, especially playing against my opposition, and I feel that I've learned a lot from Jordie Barrett on the field - it's been incredible to play against him.

"All I can say is every Test match is tough, and this has been an incredible experience and has also been tough, but a good experience."

De Allende will pull on the No.12 jersey once again on Saturday as the Springboks look to seal the inaugural Greatest Rivalry Series in Baltimore.

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