It was one-way traffic for most of the match as Harlequins ran riot on attack to hand the DHL Stormers, who rested a number of first-choice players, their first defeat in all competitions this season.

It was the third defeat for a South African team in the Investec Champions Cup this weekend, after the Vodacom Bulls and Hollywoodbets Sharks also went down to English opposition on Saturday. The Lions flew the SA flag with the only victory of the weekend, against Lyon in Johannesburg.

Meanwhile, the EPCR Challenge Cup match between the Toyota Cheetahs and Ulster in the Netherlands has been postponed until further notice. This was after the match day referee, Kevin Bralley, decided that the pitch is unplayable following an inspection before kick-off, which was scheduled for 15h00 (SA time). EPCR will convene its Board Crisis Management Group to consider next steps.

The hosts did well to convert their opportunities into points, which saw them score five tries in the first half, and they added another four in the second half to secure the comprehensive victory.

The DHL Stormers, in turn, tried hard to breach the defence, but their efforts were stunted except for two second-half tries, which saw them take their score to double digits.

Harlequins imposed themselves from the outset and created try-scoring opportunities at will, and they capitalised on most of them in the opening stanza, which saw them cross the tryline five times within 22 minutes and accumulate 33 points without answer from the DHL Stormers.

They backed this up with a phenomenal defensive effort, which resulted in them countering every chance the Capetonians created in an attempt to cross the tryline, which left the visitors scoreless in the first half.

They built on this momentum in the second half, scoring three tries in a row – which saw Nick David secure his hat-trick – before the DHL Stormers finally breached the defence to score back-to-back unconverted tries by Imad Khan and Dylan Maart to reduce their deficit.

Their hopes of a strong finish to the match, however, were hampered by Harlequins’ ninth try on the stroke of full-time, which saw them register a memorable 61-10 win against the United Rugby Championship log leaders, while handing them their first defeat in the Investec Champions Cup this season.

The final pool round of the competition is next weekend, when the Vodacom Bulls are away in France against Section Paloise (22h00 on 16 January), and on 17 January, the Hollywoodbets Sharks host ASM Clermont Auvergne in Durban (15h00) and the DHL Stormers take on the Leicester Tigers in Cape Town (17h15).

In the EPCR Challenge Cup fourth round, the Lions are away against Perpignan in France (17 January at 19h30) and Racing-92 host the Toyota Cheetahs (18 January at 19h30).

Scorers:

Harlequins 61 (33) – Tries: Jack Kenningham, Cadan Murley, Alex Dombrandt, Chandler Cunningham-South, Nick David (3), Zach Carr. Conversions: Marcus Smith (8).

DHL Stormers 10 (0) – Tries: Imad Khan, Dylan Maart.