Champions Cup newcomers La Rochelle stun slack Harlequins with bonus-point victory at the Stoop

Newcomers La Rochelle stunned Harlequins with a bonus-point victory here, as English exile Ryan Lamb rolled back the years in a virtuoso performance opposite the home sides tyro, Marcus Smith.

Pool One of the Champions Cup had kicked off with Ulster edging Wasps 19-9 in Belfast on Friday night, so the two English sides involved will meet in Coventry next Sunday knowing another loss would leave them playing a daunting game of catch-up.

Harlequins may take solace in their history of winning a match away in France in each of their last four campaigns in the Champions Cup, but already La Rochelle look like the team to beat in this pool.

As the only first-time participants in this season’s tournament, the French side showed no signs of stage fright, outscoring Quins by three tries to two in the first half.

And La Rochelle’s No.10 was both familiar with the demands of Europe and to English audiences as Lamb, the 31-year-old former Saxons fly-half, had played for four Premiership clubs in the European Cup before his summer switch from Worcester to the port town on France’s Atlantic coast.

This was Lamb’s first match for five weeks since he broke a rib while orchestrating a 51-20 thrashing of Clermont Auvergne in the French Top 14 – the domestic league in which La Rochelle have carried on their remarkable tale of giant-killing in recent weeks after spectacularly upsetting the odds to finish top in last year’s regular season.

The even more experienced Australian fly-half, Brock James, was absent with a groin injury, but the ever-graceful Lamb looked utterly at ease on his return to the starting line-up and he orchestrated a visiting team who delivered in their pre-match promise to play fast, open rugby – and from anywhere on the pitch.

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A high tackle by Tim Visser on wing Vincent Rattez in the second minute gave La Rochelle a penalty in the Quins half that they kicked for touch, and it was a wise move as Zeno Kieft caught the line-out and hooker Hikairo Forbes rumbled round to score in an irresistible drive.

Lamb converted and a nip-and-tuck first half hurtled on with Marcus Smith and Lamb exchanging penalties, and lock Charlie Matthews grabbing Harlequins’ opening try on the end of Jamie Roberts’s crash-ball incursion from a ruck.

The conversion was added by Smith, the 18-year-old Quins tyro who has been looking more assured every week in his debut senior season, and his lovely show-and-go opened La Rochelle up in a sequence that ended with Joe Marchant’s try converted by the young fly-half.

But La Rochelle had plundered two converted tries in the meantime, as centre Geoffrey Doumayrou sliced thorugh Quins and exchanged passes with his captain Jason Eaton, then loosehead prop Dany Priso finished that showed off the visitors’ nimble footwork in the back row, and good support from the big boys in the front five.

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That left La Rochelle 24-17 up at the interval, but worryingly for Quins, it quickly became 34-17 as Lamb schooled his younger opponent Smith with a lavish dummy straight from a scrum, and Doumayrou followed up for his second try, which Lamb converted before he added a penalty in the 53rd minute.

Quins might have been much closer or even in front, but they bungled a line-out throw deep in the la Rochelle 22 and twice put in grubber kicks – one from Danny Care, the other from Joe Marchant – that teammates failed to gather. Marchant, in particular, might have been better trusting his pace.

It took until the 62nd minute for a much-needed third try for the home side to arrive, with La Rochelle down to 14 men after a yellow card to flanker Kevin Gourdon for a deliberate knock-on.

A burst by hooker Dave Ward paved the way for Smith and James Horwill to send England prop Will Collier over near the left corner, and Smith converted.

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Harlequins sent on Francis Saili for the former All Blacks centre’s long-awaited debut which had been delayed by injury after his transfer from Munster.

But Saili butchered one opportunity with an overt-thrown pass and when the brilliantly composed Smith landed a penalty kick from wide on the left with just over a minute to play, it rescued only a single bonus point for Quins whereas La Rochelle had grabbed the maximum haul.

Harlequins: tries: Matthews, Marchant, Collier; conversions Smith 3; penalties: Smith 2.

La Rochelle: tries: Forbes, Doumayrou 2, Priso; conversions Lamb 4; penalties: Lamb 2.

Harlequins: M Brown; M Yarde, J Marchant, J Roberts (F Saili 62), T Visser; M Smith, D Care (D Lewis 71); J Marler, D Ward, W Collier (P Swainston 77), C Matthews (G Merrick 54), J Horwill (capt), B Glynn, C Robshaw, M Luamanu.

La Rochelle: K Murimurivalu (G Lacroix 57); V Rattez, P Jordaan, G Doumayrou (P Aguillon 66), J Sinzelle; R Lamb, A Bales (J-V Goillot 73); D Priso (M Corbel 51), H Forbes (P Bourgarit 66), U Atonio (V Pelo 66), J Eaton (capt; G Lamboley 66), J Qovu, Z Kieft (A Amosa 66), K Gourdon, V Vito.

Referee: M Mitrea (Italy).

Official attendance 11,705.