Harlequins Ladies

Harlequins Ladies
Full name Harlequin Ladies Football Club
Union RFU
Nickname(s) Quins
Founded 1995 (2017 reformed)
Ground(s) Surrey Sports Park, Twickenham Stoop
Coach(es) Karen Findlay, Gary Street
Captain(s) Rachael Burford
League(s) Tyrrells Premier 15s

Harlequin Ladies Football Club, also known as Harlequins Ladies, are a women's rugby union club based in Guildford, Surrey, England and in Isleworth, Middlesex, England. They were founded in 1995 as the women’s team of Harlequin FC and rebranded in 2017 after merging with Aylesford Bulls. In 2017, they were selected as one of the franchises for the new Premier 15s league, but also cater for new, aspiring and social players within their 3rd XV squad.

History

Harlequin Ladies were founded in 1995 as the ladies team of Harlequin FC. They initially played their home games at Centaurs RFC, Grasshoppers RFC, Old Isleworthians RFC and at Harlequins previous training base at Richardson Evans Memorial Playing Fields in Roehampton.[1][2] They won their first league title unbeaten and were subject of a Channel 4 documentary.[3] In 2000, they were promoted to Rugby Football Union for Women Division 1.[4] However they were later relegated from top flight.[5] Following the RFUW restructuring the leagues in 2007, Harlequins Ladies were placed in Championship 2 South East.[6] As of 2017, they played their rugby in the National 2 South East league.[7]

Reformation

In 2016, Harlequins announced a partnership with Women's Premiership club Aylesford Bulls Ladies. The agreement stated that Aylesford Bulls would become a part of Harlequins and would wear their colours[8] but initially retain their name and at first split their matches between Aylesford, Kent and Harlequins' Twickenham Stoop.[9] However the elite squad later moved to be permanently based at Surrey Sports Park at the University of Surrey in Guildford, with the 3s maintaining their links with the local area and keeping Old Isleworthians RFC as their training and playing base.[10] In 2017, Harlequins Ladies were awarded a franchise for the new Women's Super League, later renamed Premier 15s. In doing so, Harlequins fully took over Aylesford Bulls Ladies with Harlequins being confirmed for the new league in a full merger and would cease using the Aylesford Bulls name.[8][11][12][13]

Ground

Harlequins Ladies 1/2s play their home fixtures either at their training base, the Surrey Sports Park in Guildford, or at the Twickenham Stoop, which is situated in Twickenham in south-west London. As of September 2018, Harlequins Ladies 3s will be playing their home fixtures at the brand new facilities at Grasshoppers RFC.

Record attendance

On 10 March 2018, at their league match against local rivals Richmond Ladies, Harlequins Ladies attracted a record attendance for a British ladies club rugby match of 4,545.[14]

Current squad

The Harlequins Ladies squad for the Tyrrells Premier 15s 2017/18 season is:[15]

Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Player Position Union
Natasha Bradshaw Fullback
Heather Cowell Fullback
Fiona Pocock Fullback England England
Jess Wooden Fullback United States United States
Bethan Dainton Wing Wales Wales
Jessica Breach Wing England England
Chloe Dumbreck Wing
Holly Jayne Myers Wing
Louise Worsfold Wing
Rachael Burford Centre England England
Laura Dowsett Centre
Georgia Gray Centre
Izzy Mayhew Centre
Ellie Miles Centre England England
Samantha White Centre
Stacey White Centre
Breanna Hill Fly-half
Olivia Critchley Scrum-half
Beverley Gilbert Scrum-half
Leanne Riley Scrum-half England England
Amy Turner Scrum-half England England
Player Position Union
Vickii Cornborough Prop England England
Ellisha Dee Prop England England
Jenny Smith Prop
Siobhan Szecowka-Harte Prop
Tove Viksten Prop Sweden Sweden
Davinia Catlin Hooker England England
Chloe Edwards Hooker
Laura Levi Hooker
Patricia Metcalfe-Jones Hooker
Sally Parker Hooker
Paula Robinson Hooker
Jenny Vik Hooker
Jenny Eyre Lock
Tatum Gabriel Lock
Amy Garrett Lock
Katharine Gent Lock
Deborah McCormack Lock Scotland Scotland
Zoe Saynor Lock
Abbie Scott Lock England England
Hannah Field Flanker
Alex Hardy Flanker England England
Shaunagh Brown Back row England England
Fi Fletcher Back row England England
Asleigh Greenslade Back row
Natalie Groome Back row
Samantha McCarthy Back row
Katy Mew Back row
Elizabeth Philip Back row
Rebecca Smith Back row
Samantha Voyle Number 8

References

  1. "Volunteer award winners". Middlesex Rugby. 12 November 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  2. "Aylesford Bulls Ladies 77–0 Harlequins Ladies". Kent Sports News. 10 October 2011. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  3. "Anguish? They All Had a Bawl in the Square!". The People. Retrieved 31 March 2017 via HighBeam Research. (subscription required)
  4. "Player profile – Mel Antao". Official.sportnetwork.net. 23 April 2006. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  5. "Harlequin Ladies Fixtures 2006/7". Rugbynetwork.net. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  6. "How it all began: A brief history of HLFC". Official.sportnetwork.net. 2 September 2009. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  7. "East London women launch recruitment drive". Newham Recorder. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  8. 1 2 Richard Parry (28 February 2017). "Women's Super Rugby: Harlequins Ladies offered place in the newly formed competition". Evening Standard. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  9. Tucker, Craig (10 June 2016). "Aylesford Bulls Ladies Rugby Club announce partnership with Harlequins and set sights on European domination". Kent Online. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  10. "Aylesford Bulls Ladies". Women's Premiership. 24 March 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  11. "England reveal top new women's competition". Scrum Queens. 6 January 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  12. "Girls Rugby catching on" (PDF). SW Londonder. 1 March 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  13. http://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/features/guest-columnists/29135/catherine-spencer-litchfield-will-get-new-chance-to-join-in-2019/
  14. "Harlequins 14-12 Richmond: Record crowd watches women's club game". BBC. 10 March 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  15. "Current Players". Harlequins. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
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