DHL Stormers 32 Harlequins 28

The narrowness of the final score should not disguise the total supremacy of the Cape side in this Heineken Cup Tie.

Quins scored 4 tries in the closing minutes which brought a semblance of respectability to the score line and a game Stormers dominated.

There was something of a carnival atmosphere, a sort of winter training fun fest for 4 Quins players who came from South Africa (Luow, Herbst, Lamb and Esterhuizen) and Wilco Luow was playing against his old club.

With the temperature at 26 degrees it must have been a welcome break from wet and windy UK.

Both teams were sponsored by DHL which also increased the connection.

The Stormers had dubbed the Quins as soft, citing their sale of club multicoloured waistcoats.

There is nothing soft when Joe Marler squares up to you.

The Stormers had more heft in their pack and mobility too.

Nick David the Quins full back makes some devastating forward runs but tends to leave gaps in defence which the Stormers exploited.

This has not been a happy competition for Quins. Fans will remember the Deangate fiasco v Leinster in 2007 when a blood capsule was released in order to make a substitution.

I was not there but fans who were immediately noticed something was up and the Leinster doctors were all over the incident.

Quins’ season is now effectively over and it’s not been much of one.

Only Caden Murley and Jack Walker seem to have improved and we are some way behind the big boys of England, Wales, Ireland, France and South Africa.

Joe Marchant is off to France and we can hope that Joe Launchbury in the second row will improve our pack.