Alex Dombrandt Earns England Recall Talk After 41-24 Exeter Win

Alex Dombrandt put himself back in England contention with a man-of-the-match display in Harlequins' 41-24 comeback against Exeter at Allianz Stadium. Next week, he is expected to be recalled by England after a run of form that has lifted his case for the number eight role.

Harlequins trailed before scoring 34 unanswered points to turn the game around in front of a 36,925 crowd. Dombrandt was central to that swing, and his performance came as England boss Steve Borthwick prepares to name his first squad on Monday ahead of the July Tests against South Africa, Fiji and Argentina.

Gilmore backs Dombrandt

Jason Gilmore did not hide the scale of the performance. "Alex has been amazing and his last three months have been outstanding." He added: "I don’t think there are too many better number eights in the country at the moment. He’s putting his hand up to grab that starting eight jersey for England as well."

That is a direct challenge to the current order. Ben Earl and Henry Pollock are above him in the England number eight pecking order, but Dombrandt’s latest display adds pressure before the squad call.

Harlequins' comeback against Exeter

The win also carried a clear team edge. Harlequins were on the back foot for much of the season, according to Gilmore, yet they produced their biggest spell of control in the second half after Marcus Smith adjusted the kicking plan.

"Marcus has been working really hard to develop the control side of his game and I thought his kicking game, particularly in that second half, was excellent," Gilmore said. "He wanted to change the strategy at half-time and kick a little bit longer and we backed what he wanted. We got our kick chase off the back of it."

England squad pressure

Dombrandt, 29, has won 23 England caps and earned his most recent one on the 2025 summer tour to Argentina and the United States. He had a couple of little niggles in the first half of the season, which Gilmore said stopped him building rhythm, but he has now played his way into a stronger position.

Gilmore said: "He’s got a big three games to finish with, including this one, so to get man of the match against a physical Exeter pack is excellent, but he must back it up against Saracens and Northampton and I know he will." The final test for Dombrandt comes with England’s selection week closing in, and his form against Exeter has made the recall talk difficult to ignore.