Cardiff Harlequins RFC was a rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 club located in the Welsh

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 capital city of Cardiff

Cardiff

Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...

. The team provided several international players during the late 19th century, most notably Gwyn Nicholls

Gwyn Nicholls

Erith Gwyn Nicholls was a Welsh rugby union player who gained 24 caps for Wales as a centre. Nicholls was known as the "Prince of Threequarters"....

, who after leaving the club not only represented Wales

Wales national rugby union team

The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...

 but also played for the British Isles

British and Irish Lions

The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...

 on their 1899 tour of Australia. The club disbanded in the 1890s.

History

Cardiff Harlequins formed in the early 1880s in Cardiff, playing on a field off Penarth Road. Although in the shadow of first class team Cardiff RFC

Cardiff RFC

Cardiff Rugby Football Club is a rugby union football club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, but soon relocated to Cardiff Arms Park where they have been based ever since...

, the Harlequins began to attract matches from some of the lesser but well established clubs in the Glamorgan area. The team is recorded as playing matches against Pontypridd

Pontypridd RFC

Pontypridd Rugby Football Club, known as Ponty, are a rugby union team from Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, currently playing in the British and Irish Cup, Principality Premiership, and are the current SWALEC Cup champions....

, Mountain Ash

Mountain Ash RFC

Mountain Ash RFC is a Welsh rugby union team from the town of Mountain Ash, in the Cynon Valley, South Wales. Mountain Ash RFC is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Cardiff Blues.-Early history:...

, Cardiff and Llanelli

Llanelli RFC

Llanelli Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club founded in 1875 and its senior team is one of the leading club sides in Wales. The club began the 2008-09 season at their historic home ground of Stradey Park in Llanelli, but moved in November 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent...

 and later became a popular opponent for touring teams from the West of England, such as Bristol

Bristol Rugby

Bristol Rugby is a rugby union club based in Bristol, England. The club currently plays in the RFU Championship and competes in the British and Irish Cup. They rely in large part on the many junior rugby clubs in the region, particularly those from 'the Combination'...

. The Harlequins first recorded match against Cardiff is recorded as 17 February 1883, a 0-0 draw.

The club's most prominent period came in the early 1890s, which began in 1891 when their first player was selected for an international match, while still representing the club. Percy Bennett

Percy Bennett

Percy Bennett was an English-born international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cardiff Harlequins and international rugby for Wales...

, a forward with the club, was chosen for the 1891 Home Nations Championship

1891 Home Nations Championship

The 1891 Home Nations Championship was the ninth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 3 January and 7 March...

 to face England

England national rugby union team

The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...

 at Newport. Bennett won four caps in total between 1891 and 1892. In 1892

1892 Home Nations Championship

The 1892 Home Nations Championship was the tenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 2 January and 5 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales....

, Frederick Nicholls

Frederick Nicholls

Frederick Ernest Nicholls was an English-born international rugby union wing who played club rugby for Cardiff Harlequins and international rugby for Wales.- Rugby career :...

 was also selected, playing in the same game against Ireland

Ireland national rugby union team

The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...

 as Bennett. In 1892, Gwyn Nicholls

Gwyn Nicholls

Erith Gwyn Nicholls was a Welsh rugby union player who gained 24 caps for Wales as a centre. Nicholls was known as the "Prince of Threequarters"....

, who would become one of the most notable Welsh players in the country's history, switched from the little known Cardiff Star to join the Harlequins on the advice of his brother Sid

Sydney Nicholls

Sydney 'Sid' Herbert Nicholls was an English-born dual code rugby forward who played club rugby under the union code for Cardiff and in his later years league rugby with Hull. Nicholls won four caps for Wales and was part of the Welsh team that beat the first touring Southern Hemisphere team the...

. Unfortunately for the Harlequins they only held onto Gwynn for one season, as a disastrous 1891-1892 season for Cardiff RFC, saw the team scour the lower clubs for new talent. This saw Nicholls switch to Cardiff for the 1892-93 season.

In 1892 the team moved from Penarth Road, and a replacement pitch was made available for the team by Lord Tredegar

Godfrey Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar

Godfrey Charles Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar was a British Army officer and British politician.Tredegar was born on 28 April 1831 in Ruperra Castle, Glamorganshire...

 at Roath Park

Roath Park

Roath Park Cardiff, Wales, is one of Cardiff's most popular parks, owned by Cardiff County Council and managed by the Parks Section. It retains a classic Victorian atmosphere and has many facilities. The park has recently been awarded the prestigious Green Flag award to recognise its high quality...

. Originally called the Cardiff Athletic Ground, the pitch became known as the Cardiff Harlequin Athletic Ground, a name it keeps to the present day. Sometime in the first half of the 1890s, the club disbanded.

Notable former players

Percy Bennett

Percy Bennett

Percy Bennett was an English-born international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cardiff Harlequins and international rugby for Wales...

 (4 caps) Dai Fitzgerald

Dai Fitzgerald

David "Dai" Fitzgerald was a Welsh rugby centre who played club rugby under the union code for Cardiff and later switched to professional rugby league team Batley...

 Frederick Nicholls

Frederick Nicholls

Frederick Ernest Nicholls was an English-born international rugby union wing who played club rugby for Cardiff Harlequins and international rugby for Wales.- Rugby career :...

 (1 cap) Gwyn Nicholls

Gwyn Nicholls

Erith Gwyn Nicholls was a Welsh rugby union player who gained 24 caps for Wales as a centre. Nicholls was known as the "Prince of Threequarters"....

(24 caps)