Harlequins

Full name	Harlequins Rugby Football Club
Union	Middlesex RFU
Nickname(s)	Quins,The Entertainers,The Quarters
Founded	1866; 159 years ago (1866) (as "Hampstead Football Club")[1]
Location	Twickenham,London,England
Region	London Borough of Richmond
Ground(s)	Twickenham Stoop[a] (Capacity: 14,800)
Chairman	David Morgan
CEO	Laurie Dalrymple
Director of Rugby	Billy Millard
Coach(es)	Danny Wilson
Captain(s)	Alex Dombrandt
Most appearances	Danny Care (386)
Top scorer	Nick Evans (2249)
Most tries	Dan Lambert (253)[4]
League(s)	Premiership Rugby
2023–24	6th
1stkit 2ndkit
Official website
www.quins.co.uk

Harlequins (officiallyHarlequin Football Club) is a professionalrugby union club that plays inPremiership Rugby, the top level of Englishrugby union. Their home ground is theTwickenham Stoop, located inTwickenham, in theLondon Borough of Richmond upon Thames.

The club, which was founded in 1866 as "Hampstead Football Club", split the following year with some of the membership formingWasps RFC. Three years later Hampstead renamed itself Harlequins and became one of the founding members of theRugby Football Union in 1871. For more than a hundred years, Harlequins had been one of the top UK teams during the amateur era and this continued with the introduction of professionalism in 1995. The club has been champions of England twice, winning the title in2012 and most recently in2021. They won theEuropean Challenge Cup in 2001, 2004 and 2011, the joint most wins of any team in the competition,^[5] and the domestic cup in1988,1991 and2013. It remains the only founding club member of theRFU to still be in the top flight of English rugby.^[6]

Harlequins has the largest social media following of any club in thePremiership, the 2nd largest of any club in Europe, afterStade Toulousain, and is comfortably within the Top 10 of any club in the world.^[7]

The current club captain isAlex Dombrandt, withBilly Millard Director of Rugby for the 2024–25 season.^[8]

The Hampstead Football Club was founded in 1866 and the first recorded game took place in 1867. A disagreement between Club Secretary William Titchener and William Alford in 1867 resulted in Alford leaving with half of the membership to form the club now known asWasps.^[1] The club was renamed Harlequin Rugby Football Club in 1870, supposedly because the membership was no longer purely local and to retain the previously created "HFC"monogram mark. The word 'Harlequin' (Arlecchino, acomic servant from thecommedia dell'arte) was found in a dictionary and all present agreed to the new name.^[9][10]

During its first 40 years the club played at a total of 15 venues. Since 1909, they have only played at three.^{[citation needed]}

In 1906, the club was invited by theRugby Football Union to use thenew national stadium inTwickenham. In those early days, only one or two internationals were played there during the season, and before long Twickenham became the headquarters of the Harlequin Football Club.

In 1961, Harlequins undertook a tour of East Africa in conjunction withPretoria Harlequins from South Africa, as guests of theKenya Harlequin F.C. and theRugby Football Union of East Africa; the club won five and drew one. The tour is notable for two facts, it 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. Despite this, the tour pales to insignificance when it is realised the Pretoria club spent four weeks in East Africa playing eight matches and another inRhodesia on the way home.

The London club arrived atEntebbeairport at dawn on 4 May and opened their tour with a 44–13 win againstUganda inKampala on 6 May. They played West Kenya Province atKitale (winning 24–6), and the Pretoria Harlequins on Saturday 13 May at theRFUEA ground,Nairobi (winning 13 – 11). The next two matches were played at the same location, beating the host club 16–0 the next day and earning a 9-all tie against Kenya Central Province on Wednesday 17 May. The last match for the London club was againstKenya atNakuru on Saturday 20 May (winning 8–0). This last match was played under a typical"long-rains" shower that, though heavy, did not soften the hard ground enough to be a problem.^{[citation needed]}

In 1963, Harlequin FC acquired an athletics ground with 14 acres (57,000 m²) just over the road from the Twickenham ground, which became its training pitch. This subsequently become their home: the Stoop Memorial Ground which in 2005 was renamed The Twickenham Stoop. This is named afterAdrian Dura Stoop, who won 15 caps forEngland and is said to have been the person who developed modern back play.^[11]

With the introduction of leagues in 1987 bringing a more competitive environment, Harlequins maintained their status in the Premier Division as one of England's top 12 clubs until 2005.

The club has won the Rugby Football Union clubs knockout competition on two occasions: theJohn Player Cup in 1988 andPilkington Cup in 1991. In addition, they played in the finals of 1992, 1993 and 2001.

Harlequins hold the world record for providing the most players from one club (8) in aRugby World Cup final. In the second ever RWC final at Twickenham in November 1991, seven Harlequin players appeared for England (Will Carling,Simon Halliday,Jason Leonard,Brian Moore,Paul Ackford,Mickey Skinner,Peter Winterbottom) andTroy Coker played in the Australian pack.

They are also affiliated with amateur teamHarlequin Amateurs.

Harlequins became the first British team to win theEuropean Shield in 2001, defeatingNarbonne 42–33 in the final. They then became the first team to win the tournament twice, defeatingMontferrand 27–26 in the final of the renamedParker Pen Challenge Cup on 22 May 2004.

In 2005 they were relegated toNational Division One after finishing at the bottom of theZurich Premiership. In July of that year they announced that they would be establishing a partnership withrugby league club London Broncos, which saw the two clubs sharing Harlequins home groundThe Stoop from the start of the 2006Super League season. As part of the deal, the Broncos changed their name toHarlequins RL, though the two clubs remain under separate ownership.

In2005–06, Quins utterly dominated National Division One. They won 25 of their 26 league matches, including their first 19, losing only atExeter Chiefs on 25 February 2006. Quins also averaged nearly 40 points per match, scored four or more tries in 20 matches, and racked up an average victory margin of slightly over 25 points. They secured their return to the Premiership on 1 April with four matches to spare, crushingSedgley Park 65–8 while the only team with a mathematical chance of pipping them for the title,Bedford, lost 26–23 at Exeter.

For the 2008 tour to New Zealand, England coachMartin Johnson selected four Harlequin players to play for the tour,Nick Easter,David Strettle,Mike Brown andDanny Care. Also five Harlequin players were selected for the England Saxons Barclays Churchill Cup matches to the United States and Canada. Tom Guest,Chris Robshaw, Adrian Jarvis,Ugo Monye and Will Skinner were all selected with Will Skinner chosen as captain for the side.

Chris Robshaw played a leading role in the 2007–08 season as Harlequins won 12 of their 22Guinness Premiership matches and finished 6th in the league. Harlequins got off to a shaky start which saw them be in 2nd, 3rd 4th place consecutively, and during the latter half of the season Halequins managed to reach third after a string of seven wins out of nine, but defeats toLondon Irish,Sale Sharks andLeicester Tigers to finish the season meant that Quins dropped to sixth and missed out on the play-offs.

Two Harlequins players were short-listed for awards,Danny Care andChris Robshaw, were short-listed for the Land Rover Discovery of the Season award. As well as Coach Dean Richards being short-listed for the O2 Director of Rugby of the Season as well as Tom Guest being nominated for MBNA Try of the Season for his try againstLeeds Carnegie on Sunday 13 April 2008.

Players to leave Quins at the end of the 2007–08 season wereAdrian Jarvis,Hal Luscombe,Chris Hala'ufia,Paul Volley, Nicholas Spanghero,Simon Keogh,Ricky Nebbett and Ryan Manyika.For the 2008–09 season Quins signed five new players;London Irish centreGonzalo Tiesi,Ulster Back-row forwardNeil McMillan,Auckland Blues fly-halfNick Evans, Tongan internationalEpi Taione who plays on wing, centre and back row and Fijian utility backWaisea Luveniyali.

Quins finished second in the2008-09 Guinness Premiership table. In the play-offs, they lost 0–17 at home to eventual losing finalistsLondon Irish.

Quins also hosted their first "Big Game" at Twickenham over the Christmas period, playing out a 26–26 draw withLeicester Tigers in front of 52000 people.

In the2008-09 Heineken Cup Harlequins came top of their pool, including beatingStade Français both at home (thanks to a dramatic last play drop goal from Nick Evans) and away in front of 80000 people in theStade de France in Paris. They lost 5–6 at the Stoop to eventual tournament winnersLeinster Rugby at the quarter-final stage, a match in which the infamousBloodgate Scandal took place.

The contrast between this season and the previous season could hardly have been greater. With the shadow ofBloodgate still hanging over the club, the club struggled to an 8th-place finish despite retaining most of the players from their successful previous campaign. They also made a swift exit from the Heineken Cup at the group stages while failing to chalk up a single victory in the competition. Owing to the club's lower league position, they failed to qualify for the competition for the first time in three years.

Quins also hosted their second "Big Game" at Twickenham. Despite losing 20–21 to "London" Wasps, the game attracted 76000 spectators.

Following the resignation of Dean Richards in August 2009,Conor O'Shea was appointed Director of Rugby in March 2010.

Harlequins endured a mixed 2010–11 season, which was characterised by inconsistency. They finished seventh in the league, which was insufficient to ensureHeineken Cup qualification. However, they proved their potential with some inspiring performances on their way to theAmlin Cup final. This included a historic win away againstMunster in the semi-final, where they became only the second club to beat the Irish province at home in a European Competition. Harlequins won the final (19–18) againstStade Français to win its 3rdAmlin Cup.^[12][13]

Harlequins started the season well, winning their first ten premiership games before losing toSaracens at Twickenham Stadium in "Big Game 4" in front of a then club record for a premiership crowd and a world record for the highest attendance of a regular season club fixture, consisting of 82,000.^[14] The club's results after the defeat to Saracens continued to be generally strong, with only three other defeats in the regular season and the club went on to finish top of the league. They playedNorthampton Saints at the Twickenham Stoop on 12 May 2012, a match which they won thanks to a 25–23 victory sealed with a try in the 77th minute byJoe Marler.^[15] Harlequins beatLeicester Tigers on 26 May 2012, in the Premiership final at Twickenham Stadium to win their first Aviva Premiership title with a score of 30–23 in front of an 81,779 crowd.Tom Williams and Chris Robshaw scored the tries and Nick Evans scored 20 points through penalties and a conversion. Chris Robshaw was named man of the match. Nick Evans also equalled the record at the time for the most conversions by one player in a Premiership final with six.^[16]

During this season, Harlequins played in the Heineken Cup thanks to their victory in the Amlin Cup the season before. However, they lost out on a quarter final spot in the last game of the pool stage after a defeat toConnacht. Subsequently, they went into the Amlin Cup competition but were resoundingly beaten byToulon. Harlequins also played in the LV= Cup but did not make it out of their group with two wins and two losses.

Harlequins started their 2012–2013 season with four straight wins before suffering a first setback at the hands ofSaracens at home in round 5 and atExeter Chiefs in round 6. The club then managed to stay within the first two places of the table. On 29 DecemberBig Game 5 proved to be a success with a 26–15 win overLondon Irish before a capacity crowd of 82,000 atTwickenham Stadium. Later in the season, the second setback came in the return game against Exeter when the Chiefs defeated Harlequins. The slide continued as they suffered back-to-back defeats against Saracens and Gloucester. They secured their place in the play-offs, but lost to Leicester at Welford Road in the semi-final 33–16.

Having qualified for the2012-13 Heineken Cup on the virtue of their 2012 English Premiership title, Harlequins produced a strong showing in the pool stage, remaining unbeaten in pool 3 againstBiarritz Olympique,Connacht Rugby andZebre to be granted No. 1 seed for the quarter-finals. However, they lost to No. 8 seed Munster at home 12–18 in the quarter-final.

TheLV= Cup featured a Harlequins team stripped of its players on international duty. Relying on a team of developing players, the club remained unbeaten throughout the pool stage. Harlequins beatBath Rugby (31–23) in the semi-final at The Stoop, and defeated andSale Sharks (32–14) in the final atSixways Stadium. This was Harlequins' third title in the English/Anglo-Welsh Cup and the first since the inception of the Anglo-Welsh format. This title granted Harlequins a place in the2013-14 Heineken Cup.

Harlequins made a disappointing start to the new season suffering two defeats in their opening two home games against Northampton and Saracens. Injuries stalled their start to the season, and they found themselves in seventh after five games. Their season did eventually improve and they did begin to challenge for a top four spot. But four consecutive away defeats set them back again. They were left in sixth place, six points behind fourth, with four games left to play. A series of several closely fought wins including a try bonus point in the penultimate game against Exeter Chiefs ensured they would face a winner takes all home tie against Bath in the final round of the regular season. A 19–16 win in this game saw them march on to a semi-final at Allianz Park having finished level on points with Bath but crucially winning one more game. Saracens won the semi-final to end Quins' hopes, beating them 31–17.

Harlequins also made a poor start in Europe suffering a 26–33 home defeat against Scarlets before being beaten at Clermont Auvergne. They replied strongly with back to back wins over Racing Metro. They lost their next home game against Clermont after they lost a 13–3 lead. They did win their last game at Scarlets to secure a place in the second tier Amlin Challenge Cup competition. They won their quarter final 29–6 at Stade Francais, but lost to Northampton Saints in the next round.

Harlequins were inconsistent at the start of the season and won half of their opening six games before heading into Europe.

The rest of the season saw this pattern continue and Quins finished 8th.^[17]

Harlequins beatCastres Olympique in the first ever European Rugby Champions Cup match before an away win at Wasps and defeating Leinster at home. However, subsequent losses away to Leinster, and then at home to Wasps ensured Harlequins finished third in their group and were knocked out of the tournament.

The start of the 2015/16 season was delayed by the 2015 Rugby World Cup. However Harlequins made a strong start having a good first half to the season. They were in 3rd place in mid-January.

One of the highlights of the seasons was the home defeat of Saracens.^[18] At that time Quins hadn't beaten Saracens for 4 years and Saracens were unbeaten in their first eight games of the season.

Following this game Quins' form deteriorated, first giving away a 9-point lead at Newcastle followed by a home defeat by Northampton when fly halfBen Botica failed to kick the ball out of the play when the game had finished. It was the start of a run of 7 defeats in 9 games and, after being thrashed by the Exeter Chiefs on the final day of the season 24–62, Quins failed to earn a place in the European Champions Cup, finishing in 7th; one place below the top six finish required to qualify.

Quins put in a very strong performance in the group stage of the Challenge Cup, topping their pool and winning all of their first five games with a bonus point. This gave them a home quarter final.^[19]

They fought back from 18 to 30 down against London Irish to win and reach a home semi-final against Grenoble, they comfortably won that game to set up a final against Montpellier in Lyon. After their League form had left them out of the Champions Cup places, they needed victory to ensure a place in the competition next season. They slipped to a 26–9 deficit and got within 7 points but Ben Botica inexplicably kicked the ball out of play in his last game before heading to Montpellier to hand his new club the title, leaving Quins as runners-up and out of the Champions Cup for a second consecutive season.

Following Conor O'Shea's departure at the end of the 2015/16 season, Quins appointedJohn Kingston, then head coach, as his successor. A strong end to Kingston's first season left Quins on the brink of European Champions Cup qualification for the first time in three seasons.

It was achieved after a bonus point away at Northampton Saints on the last day of the season secured sixth place, with the Saints themselves missing out on games won.

Following the 2017/18 season, Kingston left Harlequins by mutual consent after 17 years of service to the club. His final home game featured a walk of honour around the stadium as thousands of fans applauded.^[20]

Harlequins then turned to appointing England defence coachPaul Gustard. At the same time, a number of coaches departed, or moved into smaller roles includingMark Mapletoft andNick Easter, who had previously been Head Coach and Defence Coach before Gustard's appointment. After a patchy start to the 2018–19 season, Harlequins went on a five match winning run in the Premiership to move up to third, seven points clear of third place Gloucester.

Quins would have all-but sealed a place in the playoffs with victory, but were hammered 29–7 in front of their own fans, as Gloucester claimed a bonus point victory to move within touching distance of the London club. Ill-disciplined defeats at Saracens and Sale followed before a defining moment against Northampton Saints. Quins were within 90 seconds of recording a victory which would have effectively ended the hopes of Northampton and given themselves fresh momentum as the season headed into its last few games, but a try from Alex Mitchell, helped by a lack of defensive numbers on the blindside, gave Saints the victory and brought them up to fifth, right on Quins' tail.

A late penalty miss saw Quins narrowly beaten at Exeter, and though they managed to beat Leicester in the penultimate weekend, defeat on the final day against Wasps would see them miss out on the play-offs. They were tied on points with Saints, but missed out due to fewer match wins, finishing fifth overall.James Lang's late penalty attempt would have won them the game, and secured their place in the play-offs had it gone over, but it was inexplicably taken at least a metre behind where it had been awarded in the view of TV pundit and former playerAustin Healey and ultimately fell under the crossbar by "the distance Austin was talking about that they were marched back," according to fellow pundit and his former teammateBen Kay.^[21]

In theChallenge Cup, Harlequins put together an impressive run, topping their group before edging Worcester Warriors in the quarter-final to book a semi-final trip to Clermont Auvergne. An impressive second half fightback was not enough as they were beaten 32–27. They won just one of their four pool matches in thePremiership Cup, to bow out at the group stage.

Harlequins made 32 personnel changes after the 2018–19 season, as Gustard looked to freshen up his squad, and after only winning one of their first four games, Quins would remain unbeaten for the rest of the calendar year. However, a 48–10 defeat to Sale, their most comprehensive league defeat since defeat by the same margin against Exeter nearly four years earlier, and an early exit from Europe spelt a disappointing start to the season.

Quins would eventually finish 3rd in their Champions' Cup pool with home and away victories over Bath, but as their league form continued to fluctuate, their main contention for silverware would come in the Premiership Cup. Having earned a place in the semi-finals at the start of the season, whilst theWorld Cup took place, they hammered a young Exeter Chiefs side 49–22 away from home to reach the final. This was set for 15 March 2020, before being postponed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.

Following the resumption of the season, Quins recorded solid form to finish comfortably in sixth and earn qualification for theChampions Cup. Nonetheless, Gustard's hopes of a first trophy were dashed as the London club were beaten 27–19 against Sale in thePremiership Cup Final despite leading for most of the game.

Harlequins began their season with a 3–33 loss at home to Exeter Chiefs.^[22] By 10 January 2021, the club were positioned seventh in the Premiership table, failing to record a win at home and having also suffered a record 7–49 home defeat at the hands of Racing 92 in theChampions Cup.^[23]

On 20 January 2021, it was confirmed that Paul Gustard left his role as Harlequins Director of Rugby by mutual consent .^[24]

Harlequins went on to win 10 of their next 14 games,^{[citation needed]} securing a fourth-place playoff position in the Premiership. On 19 June 2021, they played league leadersBristol Bears atAshton Gate, conceding 28 points in the first half an hour of the match to trail 28–0 before half-time. Harlequins went on to undertake the biggest comeback in Premiership Rugby history to finish the match 31–31 after 80 minutes, going on to win 36–43 after extra time to book their place in the final.^[25]

On 26 June 2021, Harlequins played Exeter Chiefs at Twickenham, defeating the incumbent champions 38–40 to win their second Premiership title.^[26] A number of records were broken during this game. During the matchLouis Lynagh scored two late tries, equalling the record at the time for the most tries scored by any individual player in a final while also becoming the youngest ever try scorer in a Premiership final at just 20years and 205 days old. This final also set the record for having both the most points and most tries combined of any Premiership final in the history of the competition.^[27]

On 2 July 2021, it was confirmed that Tabai Matson would join the club as Head Coach for the 2021–22 season.^[28]

Following the financial collapse of London rivalLondon Irish, Harlequins made a number of signings from their former rival including 20-year old England internationalWill Joseph, replacing the departingJoe Marchant who was joiningStade Français; England u-20 back rowerChandler Cunningham-South and propLovejoy Chawatama.^[29] This was on top of a number of other signings including England international, formerWasps captain and Harlequins academy memberJoe Launchbury who joined the club on a multi-year deal.^[30]

Harlequins began their season with a narrow 29–28 loss toGloucester. New signingJarrod Evans had seemingly won the game in the final minutes by extending Harlequins' lead only for the try to be ruled out for foul play. Gloucester went on to win the game in the final play^[31]

In November 2023, they briefly went top of the Gallagher Premiership for the first time in the season after wins againstLeicester Tigers,Bristol Bears andExeter Chiefs. Many of the team's England and South Africa players, includingMarcus Smith, Danny Care andAndré Esterhuizen were still returning to the starting XV having played at the2023 Rugby World Cup.^[32]

In March 2024, it was announced that Director of Performance Development, Tabai Matson, would depart the club at the end of the season.^[33]

During theirChampions Cup campaign, they defeatedGlasgow Warriors 28–24 at home in the Round of 16 to win their first ever Champions Cup knockout game.^[34] After a 42–41 away victory overBordeaux Bègles in the quarter finals they reached their first ever semi-final in the competition. Despite a 'spirited' performance, they were defeated 38–26 at this stage by the eventual winnersToulouse at theStadium de Toulouse.^[35]

In October 2024, they beat Saracens 17–10 to secure their first win over their rivals in four years.^[36] Later that month they beat Exeter Chiefs 36–19 to secure their first win atSandy Park in 10 years, moving up to fifth in the table in the process.^[37] Before the2024 Autumn Nations Series, England head coachSteve Borthwick announced the introduction of Enhanced Elite Player Squad (EPS) contracts designed designed to give the national team final say over medical matters and development programs. Marcus Smith became the first player at the club to be awarded one of these contracts.^[38] In December 2024, they lost 14–0 away toGloucester, the first time in over 10 years that they had failed to score a point in a Premiership fixture.^[39]

In December 2024, Harlequins CEO, Laurie Dalrymple, revealed the club were looking into hosting an exhibition match overseas withSingapore being the ideal location.^[7]

In March 2025, they scored their first Premiership away victory overSaracens since the2012 season. This was also the first time they have done the double over them since the2008–09 season.^[40] The following week, Director of RugbyBilly Millard announced he would be leaving the club at the end of the season.^[41]

Harlequins play at theTwickenham Stoop, atTwickenham in London. The stadium is named after formerEngland internationalAdrian Stoop, who was a Harlequins player and later president of the club.

The club acquired the then athletics pitch in 1963, a ground of 14 acres (5.7 ha), close by to the RFU ground. It became the training pitch, and eventually, the Harlequins home ground. The site provided a ground that could be extended, and there have been many upgrades since, leading to a current capacity of 14,800. The stadium was known as the Stoop Memorial Ground for many years, but it was renamed the Twickenham Stoop in 2005.^[42]

In 2017 Harlequins engaged with architects and considered plans to increase capacity to 25,000, but that has not progressed.^[43]

Harlequins also play two games atTwickenham Stadium, one in December called theBig Game, the other in June called the Big Summer Kick-Off.

The Harlequins Foundation was set up in 2015 as an independent charity (1161838).

It delivers two flagship programmes: Switch – a women and girls project which aims to develop female leaders, and METTLE – a project that develops skills and knowledge to improve physical health and mental well-being for 9-12 year olds. The METTLE pilot was evaluated by St Mary's University and the programme was found to have had a positive impact on young people's self-confidence, wellbeing, decision making and mental resilience.^[44]

In September 2018, The Harlequins Foundation and TheMovember Foundation announced a long-term partnership in joint initiative committed to help rugby fans, and the wider community, address the issues around men's health and provide information and guidance on what to do when mental health suffers.^[45]

The foundation delivers the Premiership Rugby Funded Programmes: Move like a Pro, Project Rugby, Tackling Health and Hitz.

Additionally the charity allocates grants to local organisations and charities in the local community.

In 2020 it was announced that The Harlequins Foundation would partner with The Duke of Edinburgh's Award and become the only Premiership Rugby club licensed to deliver the DofE.^[46]

Harlequins maintain a number of rivalries across English rugby, namely teams in theGreater London area.

Many consider Harlequins' main rivalry to beWasps RFC. Both clubs were originally founded as one club, Hampstead Football Club, in 1866. Wasps were founded as a result of a disagreement between members of the club a year later. Hampstead Football Club changed its name to Harlequins in 1870.^[47][48] Despite Wasps' move away from theLondon metro area toCoventry in 2014, the rivalry still persists because of its historical roots.

Other rivalries includeSaracens F.C. andLondon Irish, both of whom arePremiership clubs that reside innorth andwest London respectively.^[49]

Since the financial collapse of both Wasps and London Irish during the2022–23 season, Harlequins biggest rivalry has been with Saracens with many considering it to be the most bitter rivalry in the Premiership.^[50]

During the quarter-final of the2009 Heineken Cup againstLeinster, Harlequins wingTom Williams came off the field with what turned out to be a faked blood injury to facilitate a tactical substitution of fly-halfNick Evans back onto the field. An investigation by theERC and theRFU revealed that blood injuries had also been faked by Harlequins to enable tactical substitutions on four previous occasions. These findings resulted in a twelve-month ban for Williams – reduced to 4 months on appeal, a three-year ban for former director of rugbyDean Richards and a two-year ban for physiotherapist Steph Brennan as well as a £260,000 fine for the club.^[51][52]The club chairman Charles Jillings subsequently tendered his resignation^[53] while the club doctor Wendy Chapman was suspended by theGeneral Medical Council for cutting Williams's lip to hide his use of the blood capsule.^[54]On 2 September 2009, it was reported that the club had narrowly escaped being thrown out of the Heineken Cup following the scandal when the board of organisers European Rugby Cup (ERC) said it approved of the bans and fines already handed out.^[55]

The affair was dubbed by many in the media "Bloodgate" with three proven incidents of the medical staff colluding with former director of rugby Dean Richards to abuse the blood-substitution rule. The rule was brought in to help with player welfare but was shown to have been abused by former policeman Richards, along with Dr Wendy Chapman, who was given an official warning by the Medical Council.^[54]

The Harlequins kit is one of the most distinctive in the game, and remained largely unchanged for many years.^[56] The kit has always featured a quartered shirt, typically consisting of chocolate brown, French grey, magenta and light blue with black and green sleeves, and most design changes have merely meant changes to the dimensions of the quarters, or the layout of the four main colours.

Following several Adidas home kit variations focused upon the four "Quins quarters" colours, the 2021–22 season home shirt sees a return to a more traditional design with the inclusion of green and black sleeves, whilst the 2020–22 away shirt in red and white features a stylised aerial representation of the London area and River Thames. In July 2022, The Harlequins announced that the club had signed a multi-year partnership deal with the British sportswear brandCastore ahead of the 2022–23 season. The partnership will seeCastore both design and manufacture the men's and women's home kits, training and travel-wear in addition to the youth teams kit.^[57]

Gold background denotes champions
Silver background denotes runners-up
Pink background denotes relegated

* After dropping into the competition from theChampions Cup/Heineken Cup

• Premiership Rugby
  • Champions: (2)2011–12,2020–21
• RFU Championship
  • Champions: (1)2005–06
• European Challenge Cup
  • Champions: (3)2000–01,2003–04,2010–11
  • Runners-up: (1)2015–16
• RFU Knockout Cup
  • Champions: (2)1987–88,1990–91
  • Runners-up: (3)1991–92,1992–93, 2000–2001
• Anglo-Welsh Cup
  • Champions: (1)2012–13
• Premiership Rugby Cup
  • Runners-up: (1)2019–20
• EDF Energy Trophy
  • Champions: (1) 2005–06
• Middlesex RFU Senior Cup
  • Champions: (1) 1982–83

• Premiership Rugby Shield
  • Champions: (2) 2003–04, 2012–13
  • Runners-up: (3) 2005–06, 2009–10, 2011–12

• Middlesex Sevens
  • Champions: (14) 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1933, 1935, 1967, 1978, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2008
• Glengarth Sevens Davenport Plate
  • Champions: (1) 1986
• Cunningham Duncombe Series
  • Champions: (2) 2015, 2017
• Melrose Sevens
  • Champions: (2) 1987, 2017^[58]
• Kilmarnock Sevens
  • Champions: (2) 1984, 1985^[59]

The Harlequins squad for the2024–25 season is:^[60][61]

Note: Flags indicate national union underWorld Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player Position Union Jack Musk Hooker England Sam Riley Hooker England Jack Walker Hooker England Fin Baxter Prop England Jordan Els Prop South Africa George Head Prop England Wyn Jones Prop Wales Titi Lamositele Prop Samoa Dillon Lewis Prop Wales Simon Kerrod Prop South Africa George Hammond Lock England Irné Herbst Lock South Africa Dino Lamb Lock Italy Joe Launchbury Lock England Stephan Lewies Lock South Africa James Chisholm Back row England Chandler Cunningham-South Back row England Alex Dombrandt Back row England Will Evans Back row England Jack Kenningham Back row England Tom Lawday Back row England Will Trenholm Back row England Archie White Back row England

Player Position Union Danny Care Scrum-half England Lewis Gjaltema Scrum-half New Zealand Will Porter Scrum-half England Jarrod Evans Fly-half Wales Marcus Smith[A 1] Fly-half England Lennox Anyanwu Centre England Oscar Beard Centre England Hayden Hyde Centre England Will Joseph Centre England Luke Northmore Centre England Nick David Wing England Tyrone Green Wing South Africa Rodrigo Isgró Wing Argentina Cadan Murley Wing England Cameron Anderson Fullback Scotland Leigh Halfpenny Fullback Wales

Note: Players listed inbold have receivedat least one senior internationaltest cap.

The Harlequins academy squad is:^[63]

Note: Flags indicate national union underWorld Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player Position Union Jack Doorey-Palmer Hooker England Nathan Jibulu Hooker England Jimmy Staples Hooker England Caleb Ashworth Prop England Ethan Clarke Prop England Will Hobson Prop England James Miller Prop England Ollie Streeter Prop England Harry Browne Lock England Tom Golder Lock Wales Jonny Green Lock Wales Zach Carr Back row England Seb Driscoll Back row Wales Lucas Schmid Back row England

Player Position Union Charlie Clare Scrum-half Scotland Lucas Friday Scrum-half England Jake Murray Scrum-half England Josh Bellamy Fly-half England Jamie Benson Fly-half England Connor Slevin Fly-half England Bryn Bradley Centre Wales Sean Kerr Centre England Ludo Kolade Centre England Franklin McMillan Centre England Ben Waghorn Centre England Cassius Cleaves Wing England Tom Humphreys Wing England Roma Zheng Wing England Conor Byrne Fullback England

Rugby Department^[64]

Role	Name
Director of Rugby	Billy Millard

First Team Coaching^[64]

Role	Name
Head Coach	Danny Wilson
Attack and backs Coach	Nick Evans
Scrum and transition coach	Adam Jones
Defence Coach	Jason Gilmore
Skills and transition coach	Gerrard Mullen

Academy^[64]

Role	Name
Academy Manager	Chim Gale
Academy Coach Development Manager	Gary Street
Academy Coach	Jim Evans
Academy Coach	Jordan Turner-Hall

The following Harlequins players have been selected for theLions tours while at the club:

• Alex Palmer (1910 Tour to Argentina)
• Horace Evelyn Ward (1910 Tour to Argentina)
• Jim Reeve (1930)
• Pop Dunkley (1936)
• Robin Prescott (1936)
• Phil Davies (1955)
• J. R. C. Young (1959)
• David Marques (1959)
• Bob Hiller (1968 &1971)
• Stack Stevens(1971)
• Peter Dixon(1971)
• Will Carling (1989 &1993)
• Paul Ackford (1989)
• Jason Leonard (1993,1997 &2001)
• Brian Moore (1993)
• Peter Winterbottom (1993)
• Keith Wood (1997 &2001)
• Will Greenwood (2001 &2005)
• Ugo Monye (2009)
• Joe Marler (2017)
• Kyle Sinckler (2017)
• Marcus Smith (2021)

The following are players which have represented their countries at theRugby World Cup while playing for Harlequins (tournament winners are listed in bold):

Tournament	Players selected	England players	Other national team players
1987	2	Jamie Salmon, Marcus Rose
1991	7	Brian Moore,Jason Leonard,Paul Ackford,Michael Skinner,Peter Winterbottom,Will Carling (c),Simon Halliday	Troy Coker
1995	4	Brian Moore,Jason Leonard,Will Carling (c)	Jim Staples
1999	3	Jason Leonard	Gareth Llewellyn,Luke Gross
2003	4	Jason Leonard,Will Greenwood	Schalk van der Merwe,Norman Ligairi
2007	4	Nick Easter,Andy Gomarsall	Tani Fuga,Steven So'oialo
2011	3	Nick Easter	Tomás Vallejos,Maurie Fa'asavalu
2015	8	Joe Marler,Chris Robshaw (c),Nick Easter,Danny Care,Mike Brown	Netani Talei,Jamie Roberts,Tim Visser
2019	7	Joe Marler,Kyle Sinckler	Michele Campagnaro,Paul Lasike,Tevita Cavubati,Semi Kunatani,Vereniki Goneva
2023	7	Jack Walker,Joe Marler,Danny Care,Marcus Smith	Dino Lamb,André Esterhuizen,Dillon Lewis

The following players have held the position ofclub captain since rugby union in England turned professional in 1995.^[65][66]

• 1994–1995 -Brian Moore
• 1995–1997 -Jason Leonard
• 1997–1998 -Keith Wood
• 1998–1999 -Zinzan Brooke
• 1999–2000 -Will Carling
• 2000–2001 -David Wilson
• 2001–2002 -Garrick Morgan
• 2002–2006 -André Vos
• 2006–2008 -Paul Volley
• 2008–2010 -Will Skinner
• 2010–2014 -Chris Robshaw
• 2014–2015 -Joe Marler
• 2015–2017 -Danny Care
• 2017–2018 -James Horwill
• 2018–2020 -Chris Robshaw^{[A 1]}
• 2020–2024 -Stephan Lewies
• 2024– -Alex Dombrandt

• Rugby union in London
• Harlequins Women

Wikimedia Commons has media related toHarlequin F.C..

• Official website
• Harlequin Ladies team
• Harlequin Amateurs Rugby Football Club
• Quins' All Time Premiership Records (Statbunker)
• Harlequins: The First 150 Years by Nick Cross
• Premiership Rugby Official Website

• Harlequin F.C.
• Premiership Rugby teams
• Rugby union teams in England
• Rugby union clubs in London
• Rugby clubs established in 1866
• Sport in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
• 1866 establishments in England

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