HARLEQUINS TO REBUILD TWICKENHAM STOOP

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Harlequins are planning to build a 25,000-capacity stadium on the site of Twickenham Stoop in an ambitious project expected to cost around £50 million.

The existing 14,800-seat stadium has been operating at 98 per cent capacity in recent years and the Aviva Premiership club’s vision is to develop a new multi-sport facility, with strong consideration being given to an artificial pitch to ensure that it can be used all year.
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Harlequins To Annouce About The Health Of Luke Wallace

On 15th of August Harlequins can confirm that Luke Wallaceflanker has been injured, he has dislocated his hip in the pre-season friendly match against London Irish recently.


Next week, he will undergo surgery and only after that more precise information can be shared about his probability of returning to the team to play.

Last week Jonas Mikalcius the Academywinger underwent surgery for reconstruction of multi-ligament in his left knee, and that included his ACL as well. He was not injured during the session, but the surgery was as the part of the injury that occurred to him in the 7s Series of recent Premiership Rugby Singha. Because of this surgery, he will not be part of any game in the entire season of 2017/18.

Harlequins Rugby Director John Kingston, said, “We all are wishing Jonas and Luke the very best in their recovery. The road to full fitness is a very long one for both of them, but I know that both are very resilient characters and both will be determined to do everything that they could do, to make a strong comeback.”

He further added that, “The injury to Wallace is not just for him, but it is for the entire team. The whole team will miss his place a lot and his absence will be felt always.”

Another squad of the team, who is close to Wallace, said, “Wallace has been really nice during the practice sessions. This accident has caused huge damage to both Wallace as well as the team. Though, the replacements are always there to fill the gap, but it cannot fulfill the gap of a human. However, we wish all luck to Wallace to get well soon with firm determination and make a strong comeback in the game.”

I AM DESPERATE TO SHOW WHAT I CAN DO – RUARIDH JACKSON

Scotland will go head on against Fiji on Saturday in Suva and Ruaridh Jackson is all out to ensure that he makes an impact against Fiji in the match.


Finn Russell, the starting fly half in both of the tour games so far, left the Scotland camp to join the British and Irish Lions in New Zealand.

Jackson feels that with this, he has been gifted the opportunity to win his first cap for the team in almost 12 months, after the last one last summer where he featured against Japan.

“I am desperate to get on the pitch and show what I can do,” he said. “With Finn where I think he deserves to be (with the Lions), it gives me an opportunity.

“If I get that that chance I am desperate to put my hand up. There is a lot of excitement about this squad, about what we can do, what we can achieve.” He added.

Jackson also noted that they as a team were continuing from where the former head coach, Vern Cotter left off and they hope to make it to a good place in the future.

In the original squad of the team, Jackson was named at full-back but majority of his 30 caps so far has had him featuring at the fly-half position.

Jackson who plays at club level for Harlequins is one amongst many of the players in the Scotland squad to have played alongside lock Leone Nakarawa and NikoMatawalu during their time at Glasgow.

That gives him enough idea of the team they are up against and what to expect. He also notes that with their recent thrashing of Italy, they would be brimming with confidence and so his side would have to be on the lookout.

Lewis Boyce Now In Harlequins

Harlequins have announced the news recently that loosehead prop Yorkshire Carnegie Lewis Boyce has signed the agreement for the Club for the 2017 and 2018 season.


The news has been confirmed by the Director of Rugby of Harlequins, John Kingston. Confirming the news he said, “Boyce is an extremely stimulating prospect. He has all the potential to reach the top of the game.

“Securing his services after playing against a number of interested parties, I am hoping to see the development which Boyce will make under the expert guidance undoubtedly. Boyce is getting trained by both Graham Rowntree and Adam Jones.”

Boyce is presently 22 years old and with the short span of his rugby career, he has made 22 appearances for the Greene King IPA Championship side.

On the other hand, Boyce is also excited about joining the team, after getting confirmed, he commented, “I am really delighted and excited about joining the team Harlequins in the next season; they are one of the excellent club and have all quality players in the club.

“To be part of the young English front row, which is so exciting and work with Graham Rowntree is an opportunity for me and also a big pull for me. I wish I bring something to the team. At the same time I want to improve my game as well.”

He said, “I am really grateful to everyone at Yorkshire Carnegie, have helped me playing this way. I am especially thankful to those who have helped me to develop through the Academy.”

He further added that “I can give that guarantee that I will be working very hard for the remaining part of the season. And push myself to the level of the game and get noticed because of my game.”

HARLEQUINS EMERGE VICTORS IN WORCESTER SHOWDOWN

A show down between Harlequins and Worcester ended in a victory for the Quins as a bonus point saw them secure a great position at the top of pool three for the Anglo-Welsh Cup.


It was one hell of a superb game throughout except for one period during the first half of the game. Worcester was in an impressive form as they went on with a one point lead heading into the final quarter of the game.

This was made possible by tries from centre Wynard Oliver, hooker Joe Taufete’e and wing Bryce Heem. Fly half Ryan Mills also converted two and went on to add a penalty.

For the Harlequins, their own three tries had come from wing Charlie Walker, wing Alofa Alofa and lock Charlie Matthews. They were all converted by Ruaridh Jackson, before the 28-22 win by the visitors was secured finally by another converted Alofa touchdown.

The early exchanges into the game, saw Worcester release two early sucker punches. Before the Quins were able to fully settle into the game, the hosts were already 14 points to the good, with fluid play.

With a minute into the game, Heem had set up Oliver for a cross, while Mills converted from wide out. The ninth minute saw Oliver find a pace on the left, sending the ball to Heem in the inside who had a better chance of scoring. Heem pushed on and ran under the posts, thereby making Mills conversion simple.

For the final 15 minutes of the first half, it remained a stalemate. When the second period opened, Worcester made an increase in their lead by forcing a couple of penalties inside the 22 of the Harlequins.

Quins bounced back with an interception from Matthews who then galloped down to the posts before giving Jackson an easy conversion.

QUINS 2 COULD MAKE DUBAI SEVENS FINAL – MIKE MCFARLANE

Abu Dhabi Harlequins coach, Mike McFarlane has said that he is confident that his club can go on to inscribe their name for the third successive year, on the Gulf Men’s League trophy this weekend.


What he is not sure of however, is whether it would bear Harlequins 1 or Quins 2. Very few teams have been as dominant as Harlequins at the Sevens in recent times as the club from the capital.

In their 12 matches so far, they have remained unbeaten, since their loss in the 2013 final to Jebel Ali Dragons.
Over that period, the team has racked up a combined tally of over 436 points for, with 31 against, which means in each match, they have come off with an average of about 36 points.

That doesn’t mean they have to slacken their game as McFarlane is aware that the chasing pack behind has strengthened. He believes that most of the challenge they would face will come from teams such as Jebel Ali Dragons, Doha and Dubai Exiles.

However, McFarlane is also of the notion that his side still remains as strong as they have been or even stronger.

“Selection has been near on impossible, especially coming out of such a strong XVs season,”

“That has been a good chance to look at their attributes, but it is only when you get onto an emptier pitch that you can look at their speed.

“We have two equally strong sides, which potentially could go on and win it. We have Quins 1 and Quins 2, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Quins 2 went on to make the final.”

At Dubai Sports City last month, the two sides had met in the semifinal of the Eden Park Sevens tournament, which saw the first go on into the finals to beat Dubai Exiles.

Harlequins Wants To Raise £15m

Yes, rugby team Harlequins intends to raise £15m soon. It is not the first team to do so.

Many sports groups have tried to raise money to support their teams. How are they trying to get it done? They are going to issue a mini-bond to raise that kind of money. Like so many other sports groups, they are just tapping fans to keep the club alive.

Harlequins is a big club with such legacy. The club will be celebrating its 150th anniversary later this year. They have star players like Jamie Roberts and Chris Robshaw to add glamour to the team. Initially, they were planning to raise £7.5m but later changed the amount to £15m when they realize that they needed more money.

As stated earlier, it’s nothing new when it comes to sports groups. Sports have been trying to raise money using innovative techniques. The problem lies with most banks is that they are unwilling to lend large sums of money. Also, if the team owner doesn’t want to give up equity stakes to other investors, raising money by tapping fans is the best strategy to get past the temporary lull period.

They will be offering Mini bonds to the fans. The thing with mini bonds is that you cannot resell it. And these mini bonds are not overpriced. As a fan, you can definitely afford them. It has been one of the popular ways to raise money from fans. Many clubs all over the world tried and tested this formula before. Let’s hope that it will work for the club like it did for other clubs. Wasps, another club in the premiership, raised £35m last year by offering mini bonds. The Jockey Club is another club which ended up raising £25m recently. So yes, many of these teams have tried this formula already.

Harlequins Sees A Good Team Performance This Season

Did you witness the game where Harlequins gained 24 points against Exeter who scored about 62?

It was definitely a great win for the latter. On the other hand, the Harlequins are trying to polish up their act after that. They have been a strong team and hence contenders definitely put in much effort in putting them down.

In the European Champions Cup scheduled for next season the Harlequins are yet to acquire a position. They finished seventh and that does not guarantee them a place yet. It remains to be seen how they perform in the match against Montpellier. This match is set to take place during the upcoming weekend and would take place in Lyon. If they are able to beat their opponent they might have a chance to win a place for themselves in the elite tournament for the next season.

The pack of men who played this season was outstanding and they put in a lot of hard work. Players like Harry Williams, Alec Hepburn, Mitch Lees and Dave Ewers stand out among the different players of the team who put in a lot of work. Jack Nowell may well be considered the man of the match for this team this season.

He played well in an all round role, even though he had a hamstring injury. Henry Slade also played well and added wonderful touches in different games. His performance did not go unnoticed by Eddie Jones, who heads the England team as coach. The director of the team was understandably satisfied with the team’s performance this season. This definitely was a satisfying season for the team, though more is expected out of them in the consecutive season. It is more important that the team keeps up its consistent performance levels and is able to enhance their skills by next season.

Wayne Smith denies Harlequins offer

Wayne Smith has tuned down the chance to coach Harlequins and has signed an all new 2 year contract to stay with the All Blacks.

Wayne Smith

Harlequins wanted him in place for director of rugby Conor O’Shea, who is all set to take charge as Italy head coach. The team was in talks with the man who helped New Zealand win successive World Cups campaigns. Attention would now hit on ex All Blacks lock Todd Blackadder, who is leaving his role in responsibility of Super Rugby team the Crusaders at the end of the present campaign in New Zealand.

Smith stated that for him to think about something like Quins, it had to be pretty special and something his family thought was special as well. Whilst he and his family enjoyed coming over for the Autumn Internationals in Europe (which you can buy tickets for on this website), it’s a big difference between coming for a few weeks and actually starting a whole new life here.

He also said that he still had a lot of work over several weeks for the All Blacks, and saw it is a long process and this would change all the time as priorities became clearer.

Meanwhile, Harlequins’ Karl Dickson stated that it was quite tough seeing his team’s slide in the Aviva Premiership Rugby table from the sidelines in recent weeks, but following an all-star demonstration on his comeback against Bath Rugby, the scrum-half is enjoying the scope to get back amongst it.

Conor O’Shea’s team secured their 2nd victory in 7 games earlier on Friday with a 35-28 win at the Stoop, but they were made to work for it in the 2nd half against Mike Ford’s team – who brilliantly fought back to have a losing bonus-point.

Harlequins FC snap up talented Scottish teen

One of the most promising talents in Scottish rugby, Robbie Nairn has shocked the entire rugby dynasty in his home country by announcing he will puruse his career in England with one of the biggest clubs in the Aviva Premiership, opting to link up with the academy of the Aviva Premiership Rugby Football Union club Harlequins FC.

Robbie Nairn

The 18 year old is in his final year at Watson’s College and will link up with his new team as soon as his session ends. The winger, who is a former Scottish schools shot putt champion, has recently been turning out for Currie on occasions and he even received the BT Premiership try of the month award in January.

Nairn, who has been capped by his country and Under 16 and Under 18 levels, said that he is immensely excited about the prospect of joining Harlequins FC, adding that despite knowing the challenges he will be facing, he is looking forward to meeting the extremely high standards that the senior team has placed in front of them and he is looking to develop his game in key areas in order to become a better player.

Tony Diprose, the academy manager at the club couldn’t hide his delight at being able to call on the services of one of the biggest talents to emerge from the British Isles in recent years. He said that he is a player of immense talent and a lot of ambition and with the right attitude and desire; he is hopeful that he will become one of the greatest players in the world.

The youngster follows in the footsteps of another Scottish youngster in Bruce Douglas who swapped Edinburgh for the academy of Harlequins FC a few years back en route to winning caps for Scotland at international level.