Collegians was a sports club for former pupils of

Methodist College Belfast God with us , established = 1865 , type = Voluntary grammar , religion = Interdenominational , principal = Jenny Lendrum , chair_label = Chairwoman , chair = Revd. Dr Janet Unsworth , founder ...

. In the 109-year history of the club, it had

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, and athletics sections. The cricket section merged with Cooke Cricket Club in 1998 to form Cooke Collegians, and the remainder of the club is now called Belfast Harlequins after a merger with the North of Ireland Football Club in 1999. Collegians was the name for rugby union, hockey and cricket sections. The rugby club celebrated its centenary in 1990. The ladies' hockey section commenced play under the Collegians name in 1896 until around 1906 and then they played for many years on a non-competitive basis under the name of Methodist College Old Girls. The ladies resumed play under the Collegians name in 1942. The Collegians men's hockey section was much younger, commencing play in 1967. During the 1950s and 1960s Collegians also fielded a highly successful basketball team that won several cups. Debate grew from the 1960s onward over the opening of club membership to all. Change finally came over a period from 1988 to 1990, with each section adopting its own change date. Initially there was a quota imposed to try to preserve the ethos of the club, but the quota system was quickly dispensed with. Collegians Rugby Club won the Senior Cup on 8 occasions, the Senior League 7 times and the Junior Cup 7 times. Prior to the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

Collegians were known as the Rosetta Men as they played their home games at Rosetta Park, close to the current Ravenhill ground of

Ulster Rugby Ulster Rugby is one of the four professional provincial rugby union, rugby teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Unio ...

William McFadzean William Frederick McFadzean VC (9 October 1895 – 1 July 1916) was a British recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth f ...

VC played rugby for the team prior to the

. In September 1967, Collegians Men's Hockey Club played and won its first ever competitive fixture, with a 1–0 win against Gallaher. In the first season promotion to the Intermediate League was secured with an unbeaten record in the league. This success was carried over to the 1968–69 season and the Intermediate League was again won. However, a restructuring of the leagues meant that the 1st XI had to win the League for the second year in succession to receive promotion to Senior League Section 2. The overall playing record in the first season was played 26, won 22, drawn 1, lost 3. They scored 111 goals and conceded 3.'' Ireland's Saturday Night'' March 1983 In their first season in senior

, they were pipped for promotion by one point, remaining unbeaten (Played 18, won 8, drew 10). However, the following year promotion to the top section in the Senior League was achieved. The team finished level on points with Annadale, winning a test match by two goals to one to gain their place in Senior League One.

Honours

Rugby

* Ulster Senior Cup: 8 ** 1905–06, 1909–10, 1912–13, 1925–26, 1951–52, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1982–83 * Ulster Senior League: 8 (1 shared) ** 1902–03, 1907–08, 1910–11, 1912–13, 1950–51 (shared), 1951–52, 1955–56, 1961–62 * Ulster Junior Cup: 7 ** 1891–92, †1893–94, †1900–91, †1901–02, †1902–03, †1960–61, †1961–62 † Won by 2nd XV

References

External links

Belfast Harlequins Rugby

Harlequins Hockey
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Methodist College Belfast
Belfast Harlequins Sports clubs in Belfast Field hockey clubs in Northern Ireland Rugby union clubs in Northern Ireland Irish rugby union teams Rugby union clubs in County Antrim 1890 establishments in Ireland 1999 disestablishments in Northern Ireland Defunct cricket clubs in Ireland University and college field hockey clubs in Ireland University and college sports clubs in Northern Ireland