#3. Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins)
fforts may have slipped under the radar in the La Defense Arena. However, there is no understating the shift contributed by the number eight, who rose to the occasion for this Champions Cup clash.
After being left out of the Rugby World Cup squad, a fire looks to have been lit under Dombrandt, with his motivation to return to the national side burning bright against Racing. Dombrandt was a workhorse in defence, and shrugged off the Parisian carpet burns with countless tackles on the artificial surface.
The back-rower’s top contribution was a try on the hour mark, as he backed his pace through a gap in the defensive line. Dombrandt timed his run onto Danny Care’s pass, and powered through a hole in the Racing defense, before beating a couple of back-peddling defenders to the whitewash.
The 26-year-old clattered his way over the try-line, with the score coming at an opportune time for the eventual Quins comeback. Dombrandt certainly made his mark in this match, and will be hoping for this run of form to continue as competition across the England back-row heats up ahead of the 2024 Six Nations.
