England would be crazy not to look at ‘the dominator’ Alex Dombrandt
stuart barnes
Fewer than a handful of Premiership games under his belt for Harlequins and 21 years of age, the instinct is to laugh at the possibility of such a rookie bolting into international contention. You may chortle at the suggestion that Harlequins’ Alex Dombrandt could even be considered for the 2023 World Cup, let alone the one racing towards us in Japan. A half-chuckle might have escaped me, too, as I typed that. After all, what happened to the ten-match Barnes rule? Never judge a player until he has double-figure digits’ worth of professional games to his name.
I’ll tell you what happened to it. When someone so suited to the style of the national team turns up on a Friday night against Exeter Chiefs, you rip the rules up. Isn’t that the point of a law? Against one of the top two sides in England, Dombrandt delivered a performance that was tailor-made for the way that England play.
Dombrandt, right, started his first league game for Harlequins last month
PATRICK KHACHFE/JMP/REX
The former Wales Under-20 international (he was available for the Six Nations as a resident student but is English born and bred) blasted into the resolute defence of Exeter and often came out the other side of their rigid line. Whereas the Chiefs’ choice of weapon is the stultifying pick and drive, inch by inch, the young blind-side flanker hurtled into the heart of the opposition.
Eddie Jones dismisses club rugby as a guide to the Test game for a few reasons. One is the perceived gulf, which is the most debated suggestion. The other is the sheer incapacity of some players to adjust from a game plan that is anathema to the national team’s mould. Men like Don Armand, Alex Goode and Christian Wade are examples cited by the England coach.
But the “dominator”, as it appears he was nicknamed and will continue to be known, is the exact opposite. His dramatic carrying game is made for Jones and his team. Wind back the clock to the England game against New Zealand last month. In the first 25 minutes of that match, England were every bit as good as Ireland a week later.
They played it about as near to “pure” as any English rugby style of play can be described. None of these slow, nurturing pods. Instead, big men running hard on to passes from the scrum half. The All Blacks, battered by the storming of their fringes, called reinforcements in from the wider channels and England found Chris Ashton in the most open of spaces to score their first try. That was the brand of English game which had the All Blacks reaching for their crash helmets in the second test of the 2014 tour to New Zealand.
It has not been easy to squeeze such dynamism from English carriers. Watch Leicester a day after the Harlequins victory and see Dan Cole, a veteran Test player, static every time that he touched the ball. There is an infestation of pods. It works for the latching men of Devon but it doesn’t necessarily translate into the Test arena — club forwards on their heels find the transition to on-your-toes Test rugby difficult.
This kid wouldn’t. He clearly doesn’t know any other way to play. Cardiff Met let his inner beast rampage and the mini online show reel from those days is impressive. The lines are sharp, the depth of his runs almost old-fashioned. He comes on to the pass at a rattle. That’s just student rugby. Yet on Friday night it was against one of the most niggardly defences in the land. Still he smashed his way over the gainline.
The rest of the 6ft 4in and 19st blind-side’s game was good but it was the cutting edge of his carries that was so compelling. Here is a natural weapon for England to refine. I am not suggesting that he is the best blind-side flanker in the country. I have only watched him closely the once. But on the grounds of that game, he is without doubt one of the most natural ball-carrying players available to Jones.
In countries like Australia, teenagers with barely any experience are often thrown into the Test arena because of the shortage of professional players. Sometimes, having as many professionals as England can be as much a problem as advantage. Jones comes from the Australian culture of making more of less. He flirted with Marcus Smith as an apprentice. He has brought Bath’s Zach Mercer through in a season. Is it so unbelievable that Jones will not want an immediate look at such a devastating runner?
The Harlequin would probably find the mental challenge of 80 minutes too much (although he went the distance without flagging against the Chiefs). However, as a 20-minute cameo, either battering opposition from the beginning or upping the speed and intensity of the carrying game in the last quarter, he gave notice that he could cause consternation in the most organised of defensive ranks.
He reminds me of my old Bath team-mate, the blind-side Jon Hall. Before knee injuries slowed him, Jon was the most incisive of carriers. Like Dombrandt, he possessed pace, power and timing; the holy trinity for a back-row ball-carrier. He will probably be compared more often to the old Harlequins legend, Mickey Skinner, but Dombrandt’s threat is on another dimension.
Conservatives will say it is mad to bring a kid into the squad after so little professional experience. Thinking of how England want to play, I’d say it would be insane to ignore him.
Dombrandt’s three games
v Newcastle Falcons
48 Metres made — more than any other forward in the match
16 Tackles made — second only to Jack Clifford’s 18
v Worcester Warriors
10 Tackles — the most of any Harlequins player
13 Carries — most among Harlequins forwards
v Exeter Chiefs
10 Tackles — more than any other Harlequin
57 Metres — most made by a forward
7 Defenders beaten — most by any player