The DHL Stormers started best in London, with two early penalty goals by flyhalf Jurie Matthee earning them a 6-0 lead after eight minutes of play in their Investec Champions Cup clash against Harlequins, with the English side eventually winning by 53-16.
The home side scored their first try 12 minutes in, by Cadan Murley in the corner. Quins’s SA-born lock Irne Herbst was yellow carded for a dangerous tackle, but despite being a man down, Danny Care scored his team’s second try, with Marcus Smith’s conversion jumping them into a 12-6 lead.
Harlequins was starting to put the squeeze on the Stormers, with Alex Dombrandt scoring from a lineout maul, with Smith conversion pushing the lead to 19-6 at the break.
The second half saw more of the same. Smith kicked a penalty goal to push the lead to 22-6 before a nicely taken Matthee drop goal handed his side three points.
Yellow cards to Stefan Ungerer and Seabelo Senatla did not help the Stormers on their slippery slope with Dombrandt scoring two more tries in this session to notch-up his hattrick.
Not to be outdone by his loose forward teammate, Murley scored two quick tries for his hattrick. Another yellow card, this time to Angelo Davids, resulted in Sam Riley scoring, with Jarrod Evans converting.
There was some good news for the outplayed visitors when JC Mars, who replaced Clayton Blommetjies in the 70th minute, scored his side’s lone try. Matthee’s conversion on the buzzer closed out a miserable night at The Stoop for the DHL Stormers.
The Captonians’ discipline was very poor to say the least. They conceded 17 penalties (compared to the four by Harlequins) and four yellow cards.
The way the home side used the ball was telling and they made massive gains in running meters, while the Stormers found it tough to break down defences.
Centre Wandisile Simelane did best in beating five defenders in 13 carries, but for the rest it was nothing more than head-on collisions stopped in their tracks.
Scorers:
Harlequins 53 (19) – Tries: Cadan Murley (3), Danny Care, Alex Dombrandt (3), Sam Riley. Conversions: Marcus Smith (3), Jarrod Evans (2).
Stormers 16 (6) – Try: JC Mars. Conversion: Jurie Matthee. Penalty goals: Matthee (2). Drop goal: Matthee.
