'The Irish don't strike me as people who are emotional' - Damian de Allende throws down gauntlet

Damian de Allende believes Andy Farrell is not able to motivate Ireland to the same extent as South African coaches drive the Springboks because he is English.

The former Munster centre and double World Cup winner was speaking a month ahead of Ireland's Test series against South Africa.

Referencing Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber’s motivational techniques, as portrayed in the Chasing the Sun documentaries about the Springboks’ 2019 and 2023 Webb Ellis wins, De Allende said he believes that coaches coming from their own countries can be more effective.

Farrell, who took over as head coach of Ireland in 2019 having served as an assistant since 2016, is from Wigan and has played rugby league for Great Britain and union for England.

The 49-year-old has led Ireland to back-to-back Six Nations titles, including a Grand Slam, and a series victory in New Zealand in 2022.

"I think we get the emotional drive," the 32-year-old told RugbyPass.

"It’s hard to say, I think Andy Farrell is English so I don’t know if he knows much about Ireland and the history and what has happened in the past and things like that.

"Because Rassie is South African and he loves South Africa so much, he’s played for the Springboks, and it means so much to him, he knows how to make us tick as South Africans and he knows how to make South Africa tick."

South Africa have lost their three most recent Test matches to Ireland, including a World Cup pool game in September.

However, South Africa, Lions series winners in 2021, went on to win the tournament, recording three single-point wins in the knockout stage.

"I don’t know if (Ireland) have an emotional drive," added De Allende, currently playing with Saitama Wild Knights in Japan.

"The Irish don’t strike me as people