{{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: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

Waikato Waikato () is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsul ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, 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, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

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 ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

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, p ...

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 Barbarians, nicknamed the "Baa-Baas", are an invitational rugby union team. They have been a part of New Zealand rugby since the team was founded in 1937 by two ex-All Blacks, Ronald Bush and Hubert McLean, who captained their fi ...

was formed in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

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 () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by ...

in 1939, but before the club could establish itself the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

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, WRU was founded in 1921. Its senior representative team, nicknamed the ''Mooloos' ...

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. Opened in 1959 originally as a boys only school, the school began admitting girls in years 12 to 13 in 1985, then girls in years 11 to 1 ...

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