Nickname(s) Quins Ladies Founded 1995 | Location London, England | |
Full name Harlequin Ladies Football Club Profiles | ||
Harlequin Ladies Football Club (Harlequin Ladies or Quins Ladies for short) is a London-based English rugby union club. Their official home is split between the Twickenham Stoop, home of the Aviva Premiership team Harlequins and Old Isleworthians Rugby Football Club, their training and playing venue since the 2010/11 season.
Contents
Harlequin Ladies are an amateur club, and are completely independent of the professional Harlequins team. However, strong links are maintained with their famous counterparts. They share the same name, wear the famous Harlequin colours and club crest and often play at the Stoop.
History
Harlequin Ladies Football Club was established in September 1995 when rugby playing Quins fan, Vanessa Matthews, bumped into a former Oxford University team-mate Kirstie Heslop, and the two decided that it would be a good idea to try to establish a Ladies side at Harlequins. With the help of the then Director of Rugby at Harlequins, Dick Best, and Harlequin Committee Member, the late Pat Currie, the idea soon grew into a team that was to win the league and go unbeaten in their first season.
Since then, the Harlequin Ladies have gone from strength to strength, establishing a highly successful youth side and forming strong links with the main club and the local community.
Within just five seasons, Harlequin Ladies had reached Division 1. There have been many changes to the squad over the years, but with a number of new recruits and former youth team ‘graduates’ joining the senior side, the team has strengthened its position in this league. In 2007/08 the Rugby Football Union for Women (RFUW) restructured its league structure, positioning Harlequin Ladies in the Championship 2: South East League.
In August 2007, Harlequin Ladies became the first ladies side to become full members of the Rugby Football Union. Section 1 status was conferred on the club, meaning that they received full voting rights within the union.
Sponsorship and fundraising
In the 2006/7 season, Bitter and Twisted from the Scottish microbrewery Harviestoun sponsored the Ladies.
In the 2011/12 season, Old Isleworth based pub, The London Apprentice, sponsored a set of playing shirts for the ladies.
In subsequent seasons, however, Harlequin Ladies have continued with relentless fundraising to support club activities while they run without a main club sponsor.
Publicity
For an amateur female rugby club, Harlequin Ladies have a particularly high media profile. Not only do the local press and rugby websites carry regular weekly features (through the Newsquest Series, Guardian Series and Rugby Times; websites such as Harlequin Ladies, Harlequins Rugby Union, Come All Within, RFUW, ScrumQueens and RFTG) but they have also received national exposure through programmes such as: Women with Balls (ITV), You Bet (ITV), Noel Edmunds House Party (BBC), Strip-Search (Living TV), Blue Peter (BBC), Rugby Special (BBC), Question of Sport (BBC), Daily Mail Magazine, Rugby World (IPC Media), What Car, Blue Peter 2004 Annual, The Sunday Times, Daily Star, and Nuts (IPC Media), Princess Nikki (E4), Celebrity Scissorhands (BBC), Holly and Fearne Go Dating (ITV), Ready Steady Cook (BBC).
The Youth Academy
The youth team was originally set up in 1998, with the late Sue Moloney taking on the role of Team Secretary, and other senior members playing key roles in the setting up and training the squad. With the support of local schools, the team attracted over 30 players aged 11–17 and soon proved itself a force to be reckoned with in the junior game, winning the inaugural Saracens Junior Girls Rugby Festival and the annual Camberley 10s tournament.
As well as proving themselves invaluable members of the senior squad, many youth team ‘graduates’ have gone on to achieve major success at County, Regional and International level.
After a 3-year hiatus, the youth side was re-launched in September 2006 as the Harlequin Ladies Youth Academy. In its first year, the U14 squad finished 2nd in the Thames Valley league, with many members also gaining county and regional representative honours. In the 2007/08 season the RFUW restructured the age bands in the youth game. The youth academy therefore ran both U15 and U18 squads.
In 2008 season the Youth Academy, after a lot of hard work and great commitment from the squad, clustered with Northolt RFC and Saracens RFC climbed to second place in the League to enable a great start to the 08/09 season.
In the 2011/12 season, the Harlequin Ladies Youth Academy took time out, as players took exams and moved on to college and university. With rugby 7s being included in the 2016 Summer Olympics, it is hoped that the Youth Academy can be relaunched and will flourish in years to come.
Tours
Over the years Harlequin Ladies have worked hard to develop a strong social aspect to their game. In addition to a busy social calendar, each season is rounded off with tours for both the senior and youth team squads, and they have been known to return with silverware on several occasions. The end of season tours have provided Harlequin Ladies with the opportunity to meet and play against many new teams, as well as to forge strong intra-squad bonds.