Alex Joseph Dombrandt (born 29 April 1997) is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a number eight for Premiership Rugby club Harlequins and the England national team.[1]
Full name | Alex Joseph Dombrandt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 29 April 1997 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Surrey, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 118 kg (260 lb; 18 st 8 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | The John Fisher School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
University | Cardiff Metropolitan University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Dombrandt began playing rugby at the age of six for Warlingham R.F.C and Old Caterhamians in Surrey, originally at fly-half before switching into the forwards pack.[2] He attended The John Fisher School as a pupil.[2]
He played no rugby for representative sides or a professional academy before joining Cardiff Metropolitan University in 2015.[3]
In February 2018 Harlequins announced Dombrandt's signature for the following season.[4]
Dombrandt's form for Harlequins led to calls from Stuart Barnes and others for him to be included in the England international squad.[5][6] On 2 June 2019 Dombrandt made his England debut, playing in a non-cap match against the Barbarians, in which he scored two tries.[7] In June 2019 he was one of four uncapped players named in England's preliminary World Cup training squad[8] but was not selected for the tournament.[9]
Dombrandt reduced his weight from 130kg (at university) to 120kg by the 2019-2020 season.[10]
He scored a try during Harlequins 43-36 defeat of Bristol Bears in the Premiership semi-final, a game in which Quins recovered from a 28 point deficit to win.[11] He started the following week in the Premiership final against Exeter Chiefs and scored another try as Harlequins won the game 40-38 in the highest scoring Premiership final ever.[12]
He played for Wales under 20s in all five of their games in the 2017 Six Nations Under 20s Championship, qualifying as a resident student at a Welsh university.[13] However he has no birth, family or residency qualifications to play for Wales at Test level.[13]
On 10 July 2021 Dombrandt made his senior England Test debut in a 70-14 victory against Canada at Twickenham.[9][14]
No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
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1 | 26 February 2022 | Twickenham Stadium, London, England | Wales | 17–0 | 23–19 | 2022 Six Nations Championship |
as of 26 February 2022[update][15]