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Harlequins (Rugby)The Harlequin Football Club (The Harlequins or Quins for short) is an English rugby union team who play in the Zurich Premiership. Their ground is called The Stoop. History The Harlequin Football Club was founded in 1866 (although the first recorded game was not until 1867) as Hampstead Football Club and re-named in 1870. An offshoot of this was that there was a split in the membership of the Hampstead Football Club, with the half that did not form the Harlequins going off and forming a club known as the Wasps. For their first 40 years, they were very nomadic in their existence and played at a total of 15 venues. Since 1909, they have only played at three. In 1906, the Quins were invited by the Rugby Football Union to use the new national stadium in Twickenham. In those early days, only one or two internationals were played there during the season, and it wasn't long before the RFU ground became the Headquarters of the Harlequin Football Club. In 1963, the Quins acquired an athletics ground with 14 acres (57,000 m²) just over the road from the RFU ground, which became the Harlequin training pitch. This has subsequently become their home: the Stoop Memorial Ground. This is named after Adrian Dura Stoop, who won 15 caps for England and is said to have been the person who developed modern back play. On the field, and with the introduction of leagues in 1987 bringing with it a more competitive environment, the Quins have maintained their status in the Premier Division as one of England's top 12 clubs. The club has won the Rugby Football Union Clubs knockout competition on two occasions: the John Player Cup in 1988 and Pilkington Cup in 1991. In addition, they played in the finals of 1992, 1993 and 2001. The Quins became the first British team to win the European Shield in 2001, defeating Narbonne 42-33 in the final. They then became the first team to win the tournament twice, defeating Montferrand 27-26 in the final of the renamed Parker Pen Challenge Cup on 22nd May 2004. Current England elite squad Famous former players Club honours External links
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