Alex Dombrandt’s England ambitions on hold until after final

Alex Dombrandt is hopeful Saturday’s outing at Twickenham will be the first of many this year but remains focused on providing the perfect ending to a crazy season for Harlequins with victory in the Premiership final.

The 24-year-old played a key role in last weekend’s astonishing comeback win at Bristol which booked a spot in the showpiece at HQ against current champions Exeter Chiefs.

Dombrandt – along with club colleague Marcus Smith – is expected to be added to Eddie Jones’ England squad after Saturday’s match for the July internationals against the USA and Canada at Twickenham next month.

While the number eight played for his country in a non-cap fixture against Barbarians two years ago, his superb form is finally set to be rewarded with a full England cap and yet only after the small matter of facing Exeter for the Premiership crown.

Getting the job done

“Hopefully there are things to come after this weekend but for me focus is on getting the job done at Quins,” Dombrandt said.

“I have had a taste for England over the last couple of seasons being involved in camps and things like that.

“It is something I have been working towards for a long, long time so hopefully it happens this summer and I am hopeful for that but, like I said, this weekend is my main priority at the moment.”

A try from the boyhood Quins fan was the catalyst for their record-breaking victory on Saturday, pouncing on a mistake to cross over in trademark fashion at the end of the first half.

It was the start of wiping out Bristol’s 28-point lead and by the conclusion of a breathtaking 100 minutes of play-off rugby, the Londoners had recorded a 43-36 triumph to break their own record for the biggest ever comeback win.

Surrey-born Dombrandt added: “We reviewed the game at the start of this week but the most important thing was everyone stayed calm and the belief never wavered.

“Even though we were 28-0 down, we still believed we could turn it around and at half-time we had some really calm conversations.

“Everyone still believed so that was probably the most pleasing thing for me. Hopefully we can take that into this weekend that we believe we can beat Exeter.

“Obviously we don’t want to give them the head start we gave Bristol because a quality side like Exeter will look to close it out, but the belief in the squad is amazing at the moment and we will be looking to take it into this weekend.”

Harlequins general manager Billy Millard, who helped steady the ship when head of rugby Paul Gustard left the club in January after a poor start to the season, admitted “everyone was pretty exhausted” after Ashton Gate.

🌟 When @Alex_dombrandt gave us a glimmer of hope. #COYQ pic.twitter.com/jRHSdeZUe6

— Harlequins 🃏 (@Harlequins) June 20, 2021

After battling back from a large deficit and going through extra-time, the prospect of facing Exeter – in their sixth final in a row – with such a quick turnaround is far from ideal, but Dombrandt insisted he has plenty left in the tank to deliver on Saturday and then impress England head coach Jones after.

Like for their triumphant final in 2012, Quins will walk to Twickenham from their home ground half a mile away on the day of the final and their rampaging forward hopes they can produce more fireworks on the biggest stage.

“The body is definitely feeling it, especially after extra time on the weekend but I am always ready to play and I am hungry to play for England – that is the bottom line. I want to play for England so I don’t see burn-out being an issue,” Dombrandt insisted.

“Harlequins DNA is we want to play an attacking brand of rugby and we want to enjoy it. You are seeing at the moment we are enjoying it. We are playing with smiles on our faces and that is when we are playing our best rugby so that is what we will try to do on Saturday.”

Preview - Quins Final Clash with Exeter

Mark Smith and Adam Kyriacou look ahead to the Premiership final where Harelquins will meet Exeter.