{{Infobox rugby team , teamname = Hamilton Harlequins , image = , imagesize = 150px , union =

New Zealand Rugby Football Union New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it became an affiliate to t ...

, fullname = New Zealand Harlequin Rugby Club , nickname =''Quins'' , shortname = Harlequins , location =

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, countryflag = New Zealand , countryflagvar = , founded = 1938 , region = Waikato , ground = , capacity = , chairman = , ceo = , president = Graham Jefferis , captain = Lance Fletcher , top scorer = , caps = , coach = , rugby director = , league = , season = , position = , url =www.nzharlequinsrugbyclub.co.nz/ , pattern_la1=_blackshoulders, pattern_b1=_quinshome, pattern_ra1=_blackshoulders, leftarm1=008000, pattern_so1 = _QuinsOriginal , body1=, rightarm1=008000, shorts1=FFFFFF, socks1=000000 The Hamilton Harlequins are a

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

team. Membership of the club is restricted to ek- Waikato (County) representatives,

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

or members of the New Zealand Services team, and certain invited players. The club is an invitation XV more akin to the famous

Barbarian FC The Barbarian Football Club, known as the Barbarians, is a British-based invitational rugby union club. The Barbarians play in black and white hoops, though players wear socks from their own club strip. Membership is by invitation. As of 2011, ...

than to a normal rugby club with weekly fixtures in a competitive league structure; the aims of the club are: * To renew and maintain old friendships of playing days, * To engage in football free from competition, for the joy of it, * To invite promising juniors to play for the club and teach such youngsters the spirit of the game, * To play friendly games with similar clubs when such can be conveniently arranged.

History

Following visits to England by the All Blacks, some players decided to form a club based on similar lines to famous clubs in England. As a result, the

New Zealand Barbarians The New Zealand Barbarian Rugby Club Inc., nicknamed the ''Barbarians'', or ''Baa-Baas'', is a rugby union club headquartered in Kingsland, New Zealand, Kingsland, Auckland. The idea came from the concept of the Barbarian F.C. The Barbarians pla ...

was formed in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

and the Hamilton Harlequins in

. It was decided to ask the London Harlequins for approval for the club to be called the Harlequin FC and to use the same colours. This permission was granted and the club played its first match in

Tauranga Tauranga (, Māori language for "resting place," or "safe anchorage") is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the List of cities in New Zealand, fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of or roughly 3% of t ...

in 1939, but before the club could establish itself the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

intervened. The club was revived after the war in 1946. Many

have played in the New Zealand Harlequin's jersey over the years and, since the inclusion of the under 17 development programme in 1992, the club has given a clear development pathway for young up and coming Waikato rugby players. Annual matches with NZ Area Schools and the NZ Vikings Club from Northland have become regular features. A NZ Harlequin camp, backed by the NZ Rugby Foundation and supported by the

Waikato Rugby Union The Waikato Rugby Union (WRU) is the official governing body of rugby union in the Waikato area in the North Island of New Zealand. Headquartered in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, WRU was founded in 1921. Its senior representative team, ni ...

for approx 40-45 players, is staged at

St Paul's Collegiate School St Paul's Collegiate School is a private (independent) Anglican secondary school in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand. Opened in 1959 originally as a boys only school, the school began admitting girls in years 12 to 13 in 1985, then ...

annually. Rugby union teams in New Zealand Sport in Hamilton, New Zealand Rugby clubs established in 1938 1938 establishments in New Zealand