David hat-trick seals Harlequins knockout spot

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Image caption,

Nick David's hat-trick was his first scores of the season

ByAlastair Telfer

BBC Sport journalist

Updated 30 minutes ago

Investec Champions Cup

Harlequins (33) 61

Tries: Kenningham, Murley, Dombrandt, Cunningham-South, David 3, Carr, Evans Cons: M Smith 8

Stormers (0) 10

Tries: Khan, Maart

Nick David scored a hat-trick to help Harlequins book their spot in the Investec Champions Cup last 16 by thrashing a much-changed Stormers side at Twickenham Stoop.

Quins now sit second in their pool and will seal a home knockout tie with a bonus-point win over La Rochelle next Sunday.

Flanker Jack Kenningham, Cadan Murley and Alex Dombrandt all crossed in a dominant first quarter for the hosts.

Stormers, who came into the game undefeated this season, opted against playing a large number of their star Springboks.

Jason Gilmore's side ended their poor run of form by scoring five first-half tries, with Chandler Cunningham-South and David also getting over.

Two more David scores were followed by a fine finish by Zach Carr, before Jarrod Evans finished the scoring.

Stormers, who managed two tries through Imad Khan and Dylan Maart, will hope a victory on Saturday at home to Leicester Tigers will be enough for a home last-16 place.

Quins rediscover free-flowing attack

Harlequins have endured a tough season, winning just four times from the past 15 matches in all competitions.

Their form resulted in a club statement being released last week which said recent results were "not considered acceptable by anyone within the club".

Among a string of poor performances was a 10-try thrashing of a weakened Bayonne side in round two.

With Stormers, who are seen as possible contenders for the competition, prioritising last weekend's derby win over Bulls, an opportunity to replicate that win over Bayonne appeared.

A strong early carry from centre Bryn Bradley, on his first European start, allowed Kenningham to power over on the next phase.

Marcus Smith's chip-kick then brought a moment of fortune as it landed in the hands of Luke Northmore, who put Murley over.

Number eight Dombrandt was next to score as he cut a sharp line, with Cunningham-South grabbing the important bonus point.

Two of David's finishes came off the back of brilliant free-flowing attacking play, with the third coming from a lucky loose pass, as the hosts rediscovered their point of difference.

Scrum-half Lucas Friday, 19, brought energy and tempo to the attack and was rewarded with a try-assist for Carr from a kick through.

Europe is proving a good distraction for Harlequins, who remain dangerous as they aim to replicate their surprise run in the 2024 tournament to the semi-finals.

'Hopefully this result will be a catalyst'

Harlequins coach Gilmore: "Hopefully this result will be a catalyst for us, as it's a pleasing result after a difficult few weeks.

"We've changed the training a bit to try and get some more rhythm into our attack, and we saw the benefit today. In addition, our defence was vastly improved than in recent weeks as we showed real fight to keep our line intact."

Quins captain Dombrandt: "It's been a tough few weeks for us but we've stuck together and had some honest conversations.

"We now have games against La Rochelle and Leicester, and need to put in some good performances against strong opposition to back up this result."

What's next?

Harlequins travel to France to face La Rochelle next Sunday (15:15 GMT), while Stormers host Leicester Tigers on Saturday (15:15 GMT).

Line-ups

Harlequins: Green; David, Northmore, Bradley, Murley; Smith, Friday; Kerrod, Walker, Delgado, Petti, Kieran Treadwell, Cunningham-South, Kenningham, Dombrandt (capt).

Replacements: Turner, Hobson, H Williams, E Williams, Carr, Lawday, Green, Evans.

Stormers: Gelant; Maart, Hartzenberg, Willemse (capt), Burger; Matthee, Duvenage; Kebble, Vokozela, Porthen, Evans, Van Heerden, Nel, Dixon, Theunissen.

Replacements: Ntubeni, Matongo, Van Wyk, Groves, Mlaba, Khan, Swart, Ndhlovu.

Match officials

Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Geo)

Assistant referees: Shota Tevzadze (Geo), Amber Stamp-Dunstan (Wal)

TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wal)