The Quins-Bobbies Rugby Club – also referred to as QBR – are a South African

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, formed in 2017 following the merger of Pretoria Harlequins and Pretoria Police rugby clubs.

History

Pretoria Harlequins

The Pretoria Harlequins started life as the Civil Service Club, but when the membership needed to be extended beyond the Civil Service, it was decided in February 1906 to change the name to "The Harlequin Rugby Club" and to ask for permission to use the London Harlequins colours and name. Among the many members of the Harlequin family of rugby clubs, Pretoria were the first to be officially associated with the London club. The Pretoria Harlequins resemble the

Barbarians A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...

more than an ordinary club. It has produced a number of internationals and has strong representation in other sports such as Cricket and Golf. The 1995 Rugby World Cup winning coach,

Kitch Christie George Moir Christie, better known as Kitch Christie (31 January 1940 – 22 April 1998), was a South African rugby union coach best known for coaching the country's national team, the Springboks, to victory at the 1995 Rugby World Cup. He rem ...

was first a player and then a coach at Pretoria Harlequins. The current Pumas coach

Jimmy Stonehouse James Stonehouse (born in Krugersdorp, South Africa) is a South African rugby union coach who is the head coach of the . Rugby union Early career As a player, Stonehouse played hooker for . During his playing days, he was also a teacher at Ho ...

, had a stint as head coach at the club before joining the Pumas in the Currie Cup.

Pretoria Police

Pretoria Police Rugby Club was founded in 1922 and was the most successful team in the

Blue Bulls Rugby Union The Blue Bulls Rugby Union, previously Northern Transvaal Rugby Union, is the governing body for rugby union in Pretoria, two neighboring municipalities in Gauteng Province, and all of Limpopo Province, in South Africa. The union's headquarters ...

Carlton League, winning the title on 31 occasions. Prior to the formation of the Blue Bulls Rugby Union (then called the Northern Transvaal Rugby Union) in 1938, Pretoria Police also played in the Pirates Grand Challenge League of the

Golden Lions Rugby Union The Golden Lions (), currently known as the Fidelity ADT Golden Lions for sponsorship reasons, are a South African professional rugby union team based in Johannesburg who compete in the annual Currie Cup. The team is governed by the Golden ...

(then called the Transvaal Rugby Union), winning that competition on four occasions.

References

Rugby union teams in South Africa Rugby clubs established in 1906 Sport in Pretoria Gold Cup (rugby union) 1906 establishments in South Africa {{SouthAfrica-rugbyunion-team-stub