DE ALLENDE & KRIEL Twickenham Stadium, London, 2015. A 23-year-old Damian de Allende is paired with 21-year-old Jesse Kriel in the World Cup semi-final against the defending champion All Blacks, facing the formidable Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith.
Fast forward nearly a decade, and De Allende and Kriel team up once more against South Africa's arch-rivals, this time in the World Cup final in Paris as the Springboks successfully defend their title, becoming world champions for a record fourth time.
De Allende and Kriel's road to becoming a World Cup-winning, record-breaking centre combination - one that eclipses the famous Jean de Villiers and Jaque Fourie - has not always been paved with gold.
Instead, it's been filled with ditches and potholes, injuries, criticism and doubt - obstacles that fortified the…
