Following Harlequins’ 53-16 victory over the Stormers in the Investec Champions Cup, here are our winners and losers from the game at the Stoop.
Winners
Alex Dombrandt
Hat-trick hero Alex Dombrandt was certainly the big winner tonight, and his performance would certainly have left an impression on Steve Borthwick too, who was in attendance at the Stoop. He was influential in the win, not just for his tries and assist, but really grabbed it by the scruff of the neck and made consistent in-roads through the Stormers defence, which created a bagful of chances for his side as a result. Just a superb showing.
Cadan Murley
If he isn’t already in Borthwick’s thoughts, this will have certainly done his Six Nations chances the world of good. He posed a serious threat out wide, despite the greasy conditions, and finished two tries off very nicely as both saw him come under pressure from Stormers defenders whilst scoring before being gifted a third on a plate late in the day.
Luke Northmore
He faces serious competition to get a spot in the England midfield, but tonight he showed Borthwick exactly what he could do. Northmore was heavily involved in the Harlequins attack, and was able to create plenty of opportunities for his side with some great breaks. This will also be a big tick in his box for an England call-up, given it came in his more unfamiliar position of inside centre.
Danny Care
He’s had to be patient with starts this season, given the form of Will Porter, but Care really wound back the years tonight with a top-notch performance. He was heavily involved in all three of their first-half tries, notching one himself and grabbing an assist, and also forced a Stormers error in the build-up to Murley’s try. He provided Marcus Smith with consistent quick ball which got them on the front-foot. A very pleasing display all around from the experienced scrum-half.
Wandisile Simelane
A bright spark in the Stormers side, who made himself incredibly busy throughout the game. He proved to be a consistent threat in midfield, despite the lack of possession his side had, and he played a key role in their try at the death as he created the break and provided the assist too.
Salmaan Moerat
It’s been a long while since he’s taken to the pitch after an injury-plagued latter half of the year, but he didn’t really look like he’d been away. Just a really industrious shift, as we’ve come to expect from the Springboks lock, and he seemingly never stopped working for his side. This performance will also certainly please Rassie Erasmus too, given he was entrusted with the captaincy on multiple occasions in 2024 and is seen as a key member of the squad.
Losers
Irne Herbst
Copped a pretty cheap yellow card for a high tackle on Moerat and could easily have been sent off for it too. Luckily, his side managed to actually win the 10-minute period with him off the pitch.
John Dobson
You can understand why he rotated so heavily, considering the toll the defeat to Toulon took on his side, but you feel he would have wanted more from his charges tonight. Yes, it’s good a number of promising Western Province players got their debut with the Stormers, but this game is the latest in a long line of woeful Stormers performances in the Champions Cup, and in the UK too, and it almost gets to the point where you know the result before the game even kicks off with them. This defeat, coupled with the Toulon loss, leaves them with a mountain to climb if they want to make the knock-outs, which is a real shame considering what they are capable of.
Second choice Stormers
This was a big opportunity for a lot of the Stormers players, considering the injury crisis they are currently in, but they just couldn’t make the most of it as they were well-beaten in an incredibly one-sided game. When you have a frontline squad with the quality they have, the players outside of that need to step up when called upon and help them win games just like this if they want to oust those above them, but unfortunately, a lot of players missed a golden opportunity to make a case to keep the shirt long-term.
Sin binned Stormers
Discipline proved a real issue for the Stormers tonight, and they paid the price with two yellow cards. Stefan Ungerer was the first to go onto the naughty step for a deliberate knock-on, and that proved to be the killer blow for his side as Quins ended the match as a contest after this. Not long after, returning cult hero Seabelo Senatla was also sent to the sin bin. When it rains, it pours, and that was certainly the case tonight for the South Africans as Angelo Davids also copped a yellow.
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/harlequins-v-stormers-winners-and-losers-england-hopefuls-shine-in-mammoth-win-while-woeful-south-africans-left-with-mountain-to-climb
