As Damian de Allende lay in an Irish hospital bed, thousands of miles from home, the Lions tour looked to be slowly slipping from his grasp.

At that stage, heavily dosed up on morphine, De Allende’s main aim was to recover from the significant leg burns he had suffered from a fire pit accident, and while playing for the Springboks this summer was never far from his thoughts, he had other things on his mind.

Over a month on from the bizarre accident, which was caused by a Munster player throwing petrol on a fire, De Allende counts himself lucky that he has recovered sufficiently to start for South Africa in Saturday’s first Test against the Lions.

As the 29-year-old came to terms with the severity of the incident, he knew he had been fortunate to avoid much more serious consequences, but his compatriot RG Snyman’s continued struggles are a reminder of how much worse he could have emerged from the traumatic experience.

“I am just grateful it didn’t end up being any worse,” De Allende admitted.

“Obviously thinking of a guy like RG, I think he got the worst of it. He has gone through a lot at the moment, I got lucky and I am just glad it wasn’t worse. I can also say I am just glad I got to play rugby again.

“After it happened I did go into a bit of shock and I was in hospital on morphine and it was tough.

“When it wore off the pain started to kick in, it really struck me how bad it was and how much worse it could have been and how lucky I had been. I am very grateful I got through some good game minutes over the last week.”

When De Allende reflects on his first season with Munster, the fire pit accident is bound to feature prominently, yet on the pitch, there is no doubt he made a big impact.

The powerful midfielder initially joined Munster on a two-year deal and as he enters the final year of his contract, the province will be eager for him to extend his stay.

That experience of playing in the northern hemisphere will stand to De Allende as he is set to face plenty of familiar faces, including his Munster team-mates Conor Murray and Tadhg Beirne.

“I think personally it has been a good experience,” De Allende said.

“Obviously there are a lot of different competitions in Europe and I know a lot of the guys now playing in the British and Irish Lions; it has been good for me to go against them and see what the rugby is like in Europe.

“I have loved it, obviously the weather is very different and that was one thing to get used to. Other than that I love Munster, I love Limerick and it is a great club.

“I have learned a lot and I have tried to explain to the guys what they try and do a bit different compared to what we try and do in South Africa.

“It doesn’t mean we will change the way we want to try and play rugby, we will still stick to our structures and stick to our strengths. It has been a great experience and I have really enjoyed the last year.”

De Allende has become a stalwart of the Boks’ back-line and a key leader in terms of the physicality he brings on both sides of the ball.

Despite the lack of continuity since winning the 2019 World Cup, De Allende is confident in his side’s ability to hit the ground running this weekend, particularly as the same back-line that started the final win over England are again in situ.

“It makes a massive difference,” he maintained. “After what happened to myself and RG, if there were a lot of changes in the squad it would have been quite tough. Thankfully it is not, it was just nice playing again.

“Obviously we haven’t played together since the World Cup, but we know our relationships on the field and off the field are still very good.

“It has been great that there is still a bit of consistency in the squad and I think that makes a massive difference. It almost allows us to be ourselves and fit in naturally again.”

De Allende has already come up against Bundee Aki and Robbie Henshaw with Munster, but he is relishing renewing that rivalry on the international stage.

“I know Bundee is quite physical,” De Allende added.

“I would say he is probably the most physical of the centres there. But Robbie Henshaw is also a great player and so is Owen Farrell.

“They are all world-class players and I’m just looking forward to, not just the challenge of playing against one or two of the centres, but I’m looking forward to the challenge of playing against the Lions.”