DOMBRANDT HITS BACK AT CRITICISM
Quins to watch discipline
HARLEQUINS go into today’s make-or-break Euro tie against French giants Racing 92 with captain Alex Dombrandt rejecting accusations his side are cheap-shot merchants.
Dombrandt was one of three Harlequins sin-binned in last weekend’s opening defeat at Munster after which the Irish province’s head coach Johann van Graan labelled their approach “unacceptable”.
Van Graan took issue with a series of late hits on young stand-off Ben Healy, including the challenge by Dombrandt, which saw him shown a yellow card.
But ahead of the showdown with last season’s Heineken Champions Cup finalists at The Stoop, Dombrandt denied Quins, who top the Premiership penalty count this season, have any pre-planned agenda.
“It’s a fine line in the game. You don’t go out to target a specific player, it was just something I got wrong and we move on,” he said.
“To play 30 minutes of the game with 14 men put us on the back foot massively. Discipline has been big for us all season. It’s something we have addressed this week. It is about keeping our penalty count low and giving ourselves a chance in the game.
“We’re excited for the challenge of Racing. They have some great individual players, like Finn Russell, so we need to stay on the money.
“We know this is going to be a tough one and we want to leave everything out there and have no regrets when we come off the field.”
Defeat against Racing would end Harlequins’ hopes of progressing through to the knockout stages with only four group matches this season. But Quins have been given a boost by the absence of France’s lethal centre Virimi Vakatawa from Racing’s star-studded ranks. Wallaby Kurtley Beale deputises in midfield.
Against an international cast, it is also a big opportunity for Dombrandt to try to win over Eddie Jones. After scoring two tries for England in last year’s non-cap game against the Barbarians, the 18st 6lb No8 – nicknamed The Dominator – has not featured since, despite his strong club form.
“I had a couple of text conversations with John Mitchell about a few things,” he said. “Just checking in to see how I am.”
“But I’m very focused at Quins. We want to get trophies this year.”