With momentum on his side, Dombrandt looks like an All Black as he flies down the wide channels. But as much as Harlequins are renowned for their free-flowing, care-free rugby, they still need the platform of their underrated tight five. When the going got tough, they carried their teams on their broad shoulders.Īt club level, Dombrandt works brilliantly as an arrowhead, often in tandem with Marcus Smith. Think Lawrence Dallaglio or Dean Richards, men for whom a backwards step is anathema. Yet, there is something about Dombrandt that is failing the sniff test of an international No 8, the totem of any pack. In the previous round against Wales, Dombrandt had been among England’s best performers so he deserves the benefit of the doubt. The post-match statistics revealed that Dombrandt had made the most carries and metres of any English forward. Taken in isolation, pretty much any England player could have been made to look leaden-footed with selective editing. By the time Penaud gathered the ball, the urgency of the situation dawned on Dombrandt, but his attempted tap-tackle was more of a wave goodbye. That buffer quickly disappeared with Dombrandt ambling like he was on a country walk to a pub. Even so, when Gael Fickou kicked wide, Dombrandt had a 10-metre head start on wing Damian Penaud. The game was long gone by this point and England were flagging badly. Given a chance for retribution, Dombrandt woke up and chose to avoid violence.

Paul Grayson, the astute summariser on BBC 5 Live, was equally scathing, pointing out how Cros had smashed Dombrandt backwards with a carry earlier in the game. “That is atrocious, absolutely atrocious,” Dewi Morris, the former England scrum-half, said of the Harlequins No 8 on television commentary.

Dombrandt was turned over and a penalty conceded. But as the French kick chase, spearheaded by Francois Cros, arrived, Dombrandt flinched and then turned his back into the contact, going straight to ground. Dombrandt took the kick-off and started to run the ball back. The first clip came just before half-time. Last Saturday, Dombrandt’s contributions against France went viral for the wrong reasons. Alex Dombrandt is often described as a highlights player, the type who inordinately catches the eye.

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