Stepping up: Alex Dombrandt
(Picture: Getty Images)Alex Dombrandt has vowed to repay Steve Borthwick's faith by finding his full Test match rhythm at No8 for England.
Harlequins loose-forward Dombrandt has been pushed to the head of England’s No8 queue at the start of new boss Borthwick's tenure, starting both Six Nations encounters.
England dispatched Italy 31-14 at Twickenham on Sunday, for their first win under Borthwick and of this year's Six Nations.
Dombrandt has so far edged ahead of Exeter's Sam Simmonds in Borthwick's No8 stakes, while the vastly experienced Billy Vunipola has been omitted from England's ranks entirely. Dombrandt knows full well the scale of Borthwick's backing then, and has pledged to help vindicate the new England head coach's support.
"I'm definitely determined to repay the faith of the coaches, I’ve been working hard in training, and really trying to improve my game, my all-round game, so to have that backing is massively important," said Dombrandt.
"And I try to repay that on the training ground, preparing the team well, and hopefully on game day putting in good performances. We were happy to get the win against Italy but there's still plenty to improve."
Jack Willis, Ollie Chessum and Jamie George all crossed from tight-five attacks, before England's pack forced a penalty try at Twickenham yesterday. London Irish starlet Henry Arundell then bagged a score after stepping off the bench, as England put the previous week's 29-23 Scotland defeat behind them.
Borthwick only a week ago lamented the state of England’s scrum and maul, and yet the Red Rose men dismantled two of Italy’s biggest strengths in a potent showing up front.
Dombrandt battled injuries in the first half of the season and was out of the Engkand picture in the autumn, but has now pinpointed full sharpness to try to nail down the No 8 berth.
"The start of the season for me personally was a bit frustrating, with a knee injury, to then come back for a couple of games only to tear my hamstring," said Dombrandt.
"I feel like I play my best rugby when I get into a rhythm of games, and I feel like I’m starting to play games consistently which is always a good thing for me.
"But I’m still looking to improve my all-round game, and just keep going. As a group you want to win, and we were frustrated to lose to Scotland, we probably felt it was a game we could have and should have won. So we’re happy to get the win over Italy. But like I’ve said, definitely things to improve on."
England’s players will take a couple of days' rest to start their first Six Nations fallow week. After that it will be straight back to Borthwick's rebuilding job, with a trip to Wales looming large on Saturday, February 25.
Dombrandt cut his rugby teeth while studying at Cardiff Metropolitan University, and cannot wait for England's Principality Stadium clash.
"It doesn’t get much bigger than England and Wales in Wales," said Dombrandt. "I’ve been in the stands at the Principality a couple of times to watch a few games, so I know what it’s going to be like.
"As a group we’re massively excited for the challenge, and we’ve got a fallow week now to get some good work in and then we’ll look ahead to Wales.
"It’s an unbelievable stadium, the atmosphere, especially when the roof’s closed, so as players it’s one we’re massively excited for. We’ll work hard this week and then we’ll look ahead to that game."
