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Jerry Flannery has described Harlequins No8 Alex Dombrandt as “probably the most skilful forward” he has coached. Dombrandt, who made his Test debut this summer, is widely expected to be included in England’s Autumn Nations Series starting line-up. England face Tonga, Australia and South Africa at Twickenham next month, with 24-year-old Dombrandt having already enjoyed an unforgettable year. His England bow against Canada apart, he also played a major role in Quins winning the Gallagher Premiership title and he has started the current domestic campaign in blistering form.
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“He is probably the most skilful forward I have coached ever. He is so good,” said Flannery, the Harlequins lineout and defence coach who previously worked with Irish province Munster. “You are never going to turn him into say, for instance, Tom Curry, who is a phenomenon around the tackle area.
“Alex has done a lot of work on his defence. He reads the game really well and I thought the Bristol game (earlier this month) was incredible. He had four turnovers in that game – he stole the ball four times – and his tackle count is up there because he reads the game really, really well. It was a real complete performance from him.
“Another thing people probably don’t see from outside Harlequins is his leadership. The players love him here, they absolutely love what he is about because that is what Harlequins are about.
ICYMI: "It was two incidents that should never have happened on a rugby pitch and rarely happens on a rugby pitch"
– It was January when new England No8 Alex Dombrandt told RugbyPass his compelling story from uni rugby to the pro ranks #ENGvUSAhttps://t.co/PxmwYDAJOx
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 8, 2021
“From a technical point of view, he is always going to be known for being probably the most skilful No8 in world rugby. And I think he is improving hugely as a defensive player, which (England head coach) Eddie Jones will have been feeding into him because if you want to play Test rugby, you have got to be physical and be able to defend. Alex had the best performance I have seen him play against Bristol.”
Dombrandt is joined in England’s autumn squad by Harlequins colleagues Marcus Smith and Joe Marler, although there was no place for wing Louis Lynagh, whose two tries sealed a spectacular Premiership final victory over Exeter at Twickenham in June. Lynagh was part of an extended England training squad last month and Flannery added: “If you are picking on form, Louis is right up there.
“I see him day in, day out, and I have so much confidence in him when he takes the field that I know he is going to perform. Yes, I am surprised he wasn’t in, but Eddie has a lot of players to pick from and is very much his own man, so he will make that decision. Louis is going to be here as a long-term player. He is a game-breaker, so powerful in contact and he is so coachable. He is just going to keep getting better every week.”
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"People said before he had a uni body, whatever…"
– @TheRugbyPod turned on the charm when it came to reviewing last weekend's performance by Big Dom and his high-flying Harlequins #Quins #HARvBRI #GallagherPrem
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 12, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
Beautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to comments