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

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

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 its m ...

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 (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...

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 remai ...

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 and the head coach of Currie Cup side the . Rugby union Early career As a player, Stonehouse played hooker for . During his playing days, he was also a ...

, 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 and ...

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 Sigma Golden Lions for sponsorship reasons) is a South African professional rugby union team based in Johannesburg who compete in the annual Currie Cup and Rugby Challenge. The team is governed by the ...

(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 {{Rugbyunion-team-stub