‘Desperately wanted to play’: Quins captain defies injury to score hat-trick

Alex Dombrandt defied a rib injury to spearhead Harlequins’ 53-16 Investec Champions Cup victory over the Stormers with a man-of-the-match performance at the Stoop.

England number eight Dombrandt ran in a hat-trick of tries, with wing Cadan Murley also crossing three times as a Stormers side missing seven Springboks were overwhelmed.

“I actually gave Alex the option of taking the week off because he had sore ribs,” Quins head coach Danny Wilson said.

“But he said to me that he desperately wanted to play, that this is a game back at the Stoop and that he wanted to play. So he did that with a man-of-the-match performance!

“It was good for him because he’s been playing really well in a back row where we have some serious competition.”

Dombrandt had already pounced for his hat-trick when he sent Murley over for his third, although there was a suspicion the Quins captain could have finished a sweeping counter-attack himself.

“I’ve been managing an oblique problem, but I managed to get through the week and I felt all right out there. I’ll have an ice bath and be ready for next week,” Dombrandt said.

“I wouldn’t have heard the end of it from Cadan if I hadn’t passed to him, but we can’t have a number eight scoring more than a wing so I thought I’d even it up a bit!”

The eight-try demolition of the Stormers completed a successful week for Quins, who are also celebrating the decision of their England fly-half Marcus Smith to sign a contract extension lasting until 2028.

“It’s brilliant news. It shows the club have been good for Marcus and Marcus has been good for the club,” Wilson said.

He’s not going to be short of an offer so the fact he’s committed to here tells you a lot. There are always twists and turns in any deal, but in the end it was straightforward enough.

“We’re over the moon and I’ve really enjoyed working with him. He’s an amazing bloke as well as an amazing player, and he’s going to be a Harlequin for lot longer, which is good news.”

Manie Libbok, Damian Willemse and Frans Malherbe were among the Springboks missing for the Stormers, but head coach John Dobson still viewed it as a sub-standard display.

“This was a poor performance by us. Two yellow cards last week, three this week,” Dobson said.

“We pride ourselves on our defence, we think we’ve got one of the best in world club rugby, but Harlequins undid us here. A very disappointing performance.”