'Alex can do things no other back row in the country can'
Paul Gustard claims the youthful side he played in Harlequins’ 26-19 Champions Cup defeat against Clermont can provide the blueprint for the club going forward.
With Quins already out of the qualification reckoning heading into their final Pool Three game, Gustard named a host of youngsters and saw his side battle gamely against an experienced Clermont outfit.
While the hosts ultimately came up short at the Stoop, Gustard believes Quins showed more than enough to suggest they are building towards a bright future.
“We have played against a side with 15 internationals and almost 400 caps today. I think we had four internationals in our squad,” Gustard said.
“It is the next step for us to start growing our own internationals again and have the next period where Harlequins are going to be a big force.
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“Brett Herron and Niall Saunders are both 22. Tom Penny is a young lad, Luke Northmoore is 21 and so is Gabriel Ibitoye, so we have a really youthful team.”
Number eight Alex Dombrandt was the most impressive Quins player as he marked a man-of-the-match performance with a try.
The 22-year-old was a force with the ball in hand and repeatedly broke the Clermont defensive line as he drove the home side forward.
He is in contention for an England call-up and did his chances of making the Six Nations squad, which will be announced on Monday, no harm with Eddie Jones in the crowd.
Gustard refused to say whether he believes Dombrandt will make the cut, but was full of praise for a player he believes has a unique set of skills.
He said: “The kid runs lines from nowhere, has a feel for the game and a beautiful soft set of hands. It was another brilliant performance and Alex can do things no other back row in the country can.
“We would like to hope he will be picked for England and it is important that we keep getting players into the international reckoning.”
While the performance provided plenty of positives for Gustard, he will have been frustrated to see Northmore limp off late on.
ICYMI:
'In 20/21 you would want to put a squad together that is unequivocally compliant with the salary and is also as competitive as possible. Every squad moves on in a two-year period and I’m sure that will be the case with Saracens.'https://t.co/aXsgVDB87T
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 18, 2020
The centre scored a fine first-half try and Gustard admitted his injury was a blow to a Harlequins squad which is already carrying a number of walking wounded.
“He injured his ankle and it is a concern. We have five centres out injured and he will be the sixth,” Gustard said.
“We have Tom Penny in on injury dispensation today and other than that Luke is the only centre we have, which is a challenge.
“We keep getting these setbacks and that can make you or break you, but that is your choice.”
– AssociatedPress
Jim Hamilton discusses all the rugby news of the week, with particular focus on the Six Nations and Japanese league:
Comments on RugbyPass
A wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
24 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to comments