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'Dombrandt looks a proper athlete now... he's stripped down again'

By Liam Heagney
(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

The Rugby Pod has paid tribute to the incredibly entertaining style that Harlequins have continued to play now that they are defending Gallagher Premiership champions, Marcus Smith, Louis Lynagh, Tyrone Green and Alex Dombrandt all recipients of kudos on the latest show in the wake of last Friday’s demolition of Bristol.

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Having swept to their first title last June since 2012 and having also appointed a new head of rugby in Tabai Matson, it would have been understandable if Harlequins encountered an early-season adjustment to life as champions under a new boss. 

However, there has been no let-up following the title-winning drama of last season, Harlequins winning all three of their games so far in the 2021/22 campaign to leave them in second place, three points behind leaders Leicester who have played a game more. 

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Their most impressive display unfolded last Friday at The Stoop where they sauntered back from being 21 points down to defeat Bristol 52-24 in a fashion that was even far more swashbuckling than their extra-time win over the Bears in last June’s semi-final after they fell 28 points down.  

Rugby Pod duo Andy Goode and Jim Hamilton were most impressed and while they have their fears over what the loss meant for struggling Bristol, they giddily doled out the compliments to Harlequins, suggesting Smith should be made England captain, that Lynagh will be a long-term England winger and that Dombrandt has taken his game to another level having finally earned his Test debut cap in July. 

Goode said: “Quins were a little bit shell shocked and then Marcus Smith, make him England captain, they bring him on. They score 50-odd points from when he comes on. I feel sorry for Tommaso Allan. Poor bloke, he has gone off, they are 21-0 down, Marcus Smith comes on, you ain’t ever playing again Tommy unless Marcus Smith is away with England because he was ridiculous. His touches, ball in hand, going to the line, feeding people, kicking game, absolutely ridiculous. If he ain’t starting for England as first-choice ten in the autumn, Eddie Jones, take a walk straight back to Japan or Australia because he was world-class, out-and-out world-class.”

Hamilton replied: “We love Bristol but there is a problem there somewhere. To go 21-0 up and then to lose a game again off the back of the semi-final from last year, it’s almost as if they have been found out. Play, play, play and there is not much else to their game which there is obviously. 

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“Is it back to the drawing board for a team like Bristol? It’s hard because we are still early in the season but momentum is everything. Fair play to Quins, you look at the backbone of that team now, young English players. Louis Lynagh, he might not be English but if he gets capped he will be.”

“He will (get capped),” chipped in Goode about the 20-year-old who was included by Jones in last month’s England training squad. “He has made the decision at the minute that he wants to play for England because he went into the England training squad and all this stuff. I did see last week the Australians are still going to ask him if he wants to have a conversation around coming back to Australia.”

Hamilton added: “His dad, Australian legend Michael, has obviously said to him you need to keep the door open, it’s a professional sport… but the more and more I watch him you think this kid could be playing wing for England for a long, long time.”

The final word on Harlequins went to Goode, who touched on the efforts of Green and Dombrandt. “The only thing I was disappointed in Quins was they took him [Lynagh] off. Leave him on to get a hat-trick because no doubt he would have scored it, but they were phenomenal. Tyrone Green at full-back, very small player, very slight, punches way above his weight. So hard to bring down in the tackle. They are just playing with excitement, with vigour. 

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“Dombrandt looks like a proper athlete now as well. People said before he had a uni body, whatever. He has stripped down again and he looks completely the real deal. You saw his offload for one of the tries. They are playing with a ridiculous amount of confidence. 

“When your tighthead prop, who ain’t score in 134 Premiership games, throws a dummy and then sprints in from about 25 metres… no one from Bristol tackled him and I’ll be honest about Bristol, they are absolutely f***ed fitness-wise. They didn’t play any pre-season games, they flew out of the blocks and then shot their bolt.”

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J
Jon 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 7 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

30 Go to comments
A
Adrian 9 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

30 Go to comments
T
Trevor 12 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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