Captain Alex Dombrandt and wing Cadan Murley each scored a hat-trick as Harlequins beat the DHL Stormers in the Investec Champions Cup clash at Twickenham Stoop on Saturday night.
Quins streaked to a 53-16 victory, scoring eight tries to one against the injury-ravaged Stormers in a match that saw French referee Ludovic Cayre dish out four yellow cards – three of them shown to the tourists in the second half.
Flyhalf Jurie Matthee kicked the Stormers into a 6-0 lead in the first quarter, but Quins replied with three unanswered tries, despite a yellow card to lock Irne Herbst, to lead 19-6 at the break.
The visitors’ penalty count mounted in the second half after a Matthee drop goal as the Stormers lost scrumhalf Stefan Ungerer to a yellow card for a deliberate knock down 10 minutes after the restart, and the naughty chair was occupied in the final quarter by Seabelo Senatla and then Angelo Davids.
With England flyhalf Marcus Smith pulling the strings, Quins ran in five tries in the second 40. Stormers rookie JC Mars crossed in the final minute to score on debut, Matthee adding the extras to take his tally to 11 points in the match.
The Stormers will make their way back to Cape Town to regroup for a visit from the Lions on Saturday as the Vodacom URC resumes, while Quins prepare for a trip to Gloucester in the English Premiership.
