Kenya Harlequin Football Club, (Harlequins or Quins for short) is a Kenyan

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 ...

club that competes in the Kenya Cup, the top level of Kenyan rugby. The club motto "''Nunquam Dormio''" is Latin, meaning ''I never sleep''.

History

There was an earlier ''Harlequins R.F.C.'' in Nairobi which was formed in 1923 when the Nairobi District team decided, because it had become too powerful, to split and create two clubs, Harlequins RFC and

Nondescripts RFC Nondescripts Rugby Football Club (also known as Nondies) is a Kenyan rugby club based in Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The nam ...

. It seems likely that the two names were chosen either in concert or one as a tongue-in-cheek response to the other as ''nondescript'' means ''lacking distinctive or interesting features or characteristics'' whilst

harlequin Harlequin (, , ; , ) is the best-known of the comic servant characters (Zanni) from the Italian commedia dell'arte, associated with the city of Bergamo. The role is traditionally believed to have been introduced by the Italian actor-manager Zan ...

s are associated with bright colors and striking patterns. Nondescripts RFC is still in existence, but this first Harlequin club lasted up to 1945. Photos exist of Harlequins playing against the Prince of Wales School during the war years. The current ''Harlequin F.C.'' did not (contrary to popular belief) rise phoenix-like from the ashes of the first, though it is logical to assume that it provided the inspiration for the name.Campbell (1960) pp92-93

Formation of the Club

The Kenya Harlequin F.C. was formed when, in 1951, a group of enthusiasts decided that there were enough players in and around the capital to allow the formation of another team; teams already in existence in the capital at this time included

, Old Cambrians RFC, the Nairobi Railway Club RFC, Kenya Civil Service RFC, Kenya Police RFC, Nairobi Garrison RFC and Royal Air Force RFC. The idea was put forward by Peter Barron (later to become the club's first honorary secretary) and Ben Cook. The idea was received by Mr. D. M. Goldstein (then honorary secretary to the RFU-K) and Mr. John Parry. The club was formed in 1952 and immediately sought affiliation with the London

Harlequin F.C. Harlequins (officially Harlequin Football Club) is a professional rugby union club that plays in Premiership Rugby, the top level of English rugby union. Their home ground is the Twickenham Stoop, located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of ...

in England. The committee contacted the London club to ask whether Harlequin badges could be sewn onto the shirts; however, due to a misunderstanding only one badge was sent, which was sewn to the captain's shirt for the first game.

Affiliation

The affiliation gives the club the right to wear the London club colors (namely: - light blue, magenta, chocolate, French grey, reversed on the back, sleeves light green and black reversed, white shorts and dark stockings with the club colors in diamonds around the tops), the honor extending not only to the playing kit, but to all uses of colors and insignia including the blazer badge, tie and honors caps. This honor had only been granted to three other clubs prior to this, Pretoria Harlequins (

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, founded in 1906), Melbourne Harlequins (Australia, founded in 1928, affiliated 1948 and Hamilton Harlequins (New Zealand founded in 1938). Though the Hobart Harlequins (

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, Australia) were formed in 1934 they did not seek affiliation until much later, making them the fifth member of the group. The sixth sister club was the Dallas Harlequins (

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, United States) who were formed in 1971 but not granted affiliation until 1983. In 2004 the Future Hope Harlequins RFC of

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

, India were welcomed into the family and the latest club that has been brought into the fold is the

Abu Dhabi Harlequins Abu Dhabi Harlequins is a rugby union and rugby league team based in Abu Dhabi, UAE. They currently play in the UAE Premiership. The team was founded as the Abu Dhabi RUFC in 1970. The 'Quins' were crowned UAE Premiership Champions of the 202 ...

in 2008; Etihad being the mutual sponsor of this and the London club, were instrumental in bringing about the latter connection.

Beginnings

The Kenya Harlequins won their very first match which was played in April 1952 against the Nairobi Railway Club RFC; they completed their first full competitive season that same year and by 1953 there were enough playing members for the club to field two teams. The club won the Nakuru Sevens in 1953 and its first Nairobi District Championship (NDC) in 1954; by the 1954 season the club had defeated at least once every club they had met and had traveled a total of 2,130 miles that year to fulfill their fixtures. The club's record for the 1954 season is as follows: The club shared the NDC title in 1955, 1956 and 1958 they won the

Enterprise Cup The Enterprise Cup is an annual rugby union competition in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, though the competition frequently has the appearance of being an all-Kenyan affair as the majority of rugby clubs in the African Great Lakes region are based in ...

in 1955 and 1957 and were runners up the intervening year. By 1960 they had made two visits to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and had toured Uganda. Much of this early success was due to Hugh Steel, John Tanner and Owen Wheeler (a Scottish trialist with two English county caps). In 1961,

Harlequin FC Harlequins (officially Harlequin Football Club) is a professional rugby union club that plays in Premiership Rugby, the top level of English rugby union. Their home ground is the Twickenham Stoop, located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of ...

of London undertook a tour of East Africa in conjunction with Pretoria Harlequins from

, as guests of the Kenya Harlequin F.C. and the

Rugby Football Union of East Africa The Rugby Football Union of East Africa (RFUEA) is an umbrella union for the Kenya Rugby Football Union, Tanzania Rugby Football Union and Uganda Rugby Football Union. It owes its existence to the fact that, prior to independence, Kenya, Tanz ...

; winning five games and drawing one. This was the first time that three sister clubs of the Harlequin family all played each other in a coordinated series of matches and at 19 days it was the longest overseas tour undertaken by a British club up to that time. Harlequin F.C

Recent Outgoing Tours

Kenya Harlequin undertook a tour of the UK and Ireland in 1986 and three tours to South Africa in 1996, 1999 and 2001 as guests of Pretoria Harlequins.

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

and

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

were the destinations in 2003 while the under 21 side has visited

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

on an annual basis since 2002, hosted by the

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...

Leopards RFC.

Honors

* 1953 – Nakuru Sevens Cup * 1954 – Nairobi District Championship * 1955 –

& Nairobi District Championship (Shared) * 1957 –

& Nairobi District Championship (Shared) * 1959 – Nairobi District Championship (Shared) * – * 1964 –

* – * 1995 – Kenya Cup &

* 1996 – Kenya Cup,

(Shared with

), Eric Shirley Shield & Nakuru Tens Cup * 1997 – Kenya Cup & Impala Floodlit Tournament Cup * 1999 – Kenya Cup,

Kenya National Sevens Circuit First played in 1999, the Kenya National Sevens Circuit is an annual series of rugby sevens tournaments run by the Kenya Rugby Union in conjunction with host clubs featuring teams from across the country. Teams compete for the National Sevens ...

Champions * 2003 – Kenya Cup,

(Shared with Impala RFC),

Christie Sevens Christie can refer to: People * Christie (given name) * Christie (surname) * Clan Christie Other uses * Christie's, the auction house * Christie, the Canadian division of Nabisco * Christie (TTC), subway station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada * C ...

Cup, Nakuru Tens Cup & Driftwood Sevens Cup * 2004 – Driftwood Sevens Cup * 2008 – Kenya Cup * 2009 –

, Eric Shirley Shield (Second XV) * 2010 – Kenya Cup * 2011 – Kenya Cup &

* 2012 – Kenya Cup

Current squad

References

* # https://www.quins.co.ke/ {{Rugby union in Kenya Rugby union teams in Kenya Sports clubs and teams in Nairobi Sports clubs and teams established in 1951 1950s establishments in Kenya 1951 establishments in Africa