Harlequins host the Stormers in the Champions Cup at Twickenham Stoop on Sunday, the Stormers are bidding to extend their winning streak, but the bookmakers odds suggest it will be a close contest.
Harlequins v Stormers, Sunday 11th January, Twickenham Stoop, KO 15:00 (South African time)
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Geo)
Assistant Referees: Shota Tevzadze (Geo), Amber Stamp-Dunstan (Wal)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wal)
Weather Forecast - Twickenham
Harlequins:
Pool 3 is currently topped by the Stormers and Leinster with 9 points, Harlequins have 6, Stade Rochelle have 5 and Leicester Tigers and Aviron Bayonnais have yet to open their account.
In the opening round Quins went down 45-28 away to Leinster and in Round 2 they put Aviron away 68-14
In the Gallagher Premiership Harlequins are third bottom of the standings with just 2 wins and 7 defeats against their name. Recent results include a 40-14 hiding off Britol Bears in a home fixture, they went down 43-17 away to Sale Sharks and most recently they were thrashed 66-21 by the Saints in Northampton.
After this Harlequins wrap up their pool stage campaign away to Stade Rochelle and in the outright betting to win the tournament they are 150/1 shots with Hollywoodbets
Stormers:
The Stormers began their Champions Cup campaign away to Bayonne and they came out on top 26-17. In Round 2 they took on Stade Rochelle in Nelson Mandela Bay and a 42-21 bonus point victory sent them top of the pool.
In the URC the Stormers are the only side to boast a 100% record, 8 wins from 8 and they are 2 points clear of Glasgow Warriors at the top of the standings with a game in hand. Over the festive season the Stormers won back to back SA derby matches in Cape Town, against the Lions (34-27) and most recently the Bulls (13-8)
After this the Stormers finish up at home to Leicester Tigers and in the outright betting to win the Champions Cup title this season they are 20/1 shots with Hollywoodbets
Team News
Harlequins: 15 Tyrone Green, 14 Nick David, 13 Luke Northmore, 12 Bryn Bradley, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Lucas Friday, 8 Alex Dombrandt (c), 7 Jack Kenningham, 6 Chandler Cunningham-South, 5 Kieran Treadwell, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Pedro Delgado, 2 Jack Walker, 1 Simon Kerrod.
Bench: 16 George Turner, 17 Will Hobson, 18 Harry Williams, 19 Elliot Williams, 20 Zach Carr, 21 Tom Lawday, 22 Max Green, 23 Jarrod Evans
Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Dylan Maart, 13 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 12 Damian Willemse (captain), 11 Luke Burger, 10 Jurie Matthee, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Marcel Theunissen, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Louw Nel, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Connor Evans, 3 Zachary Porthen, 2 Lukhanyo Vokozela, 1 Oli Kebble.
Replacements: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Vernon Matongo, 18 Hencus van Wyk, 19 Alex Groves, 20 Wandile Mlaba, 21 Imad Khan, 22 Clinton Swart, 23 Mfundo Ndhlovu
The Betting,
Average early show
Harlequins 8/10
Draw 21/1
Stormers 21/20
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.
This Weeks Bets
Brent Graham's betting angle and plays for this weeks Champions Cup matches will be posted on this Blog.
Finally, all this week's rugby tips from members of the Goodforthegame community can be found on the weekly rugby thread on our brand new discussion forum. If you haven't done so already, register a forum account here.