A brief history of the Old Boys - University club since its formation in 1991.
At the end of the 1991 season, members of the Wellington College Old Boys Rugby Football Club and Victoria University Rugby Football Club voted to amalgamate. The new club was named the College Old Boys - Victoria University Rugby Football Club.
The new club played under the name of Harlequins, partly for convenience and partly to reflect a new, fresh identity. The new club's four-quartered playing jersey combined the traditional colours of both clubs - the black and white of Wellington College Old Boys and the Green and Gold of Victoria University.
Harlequins soon made an impression in Wellington club rugby. After winning promotion from the Premier Two grade in 1992, the club's top side progressed to the final four of the Premier One grade competition every year between 1993 and 1997. In 1993, Jon Preston became the new club's first All Black, while Stephen Cottrell was included in the All Black trials.
Between 1992 and 1999, Harlequins produced a host of Wellington Representative players. Jon Preston, Dave Calvert, Simon Tremain, Bill Cavubati and Stephen Cottrell all had distinguished representative careers, while Chris Teo, Brent Oliver, Chris Robinson, Alaska Taufa, Des Tui'avii, Simon Foley, Glynn Champion, Sale Sorovaki, Elliot Fuller, and Paul Alston were all called upon by provincial selectors at various times.
Bill Cavabati went on to play for Fiji, Alaska Taufa played for Tonga and Sale Sorovaki now represents Japan. Stephen Cottrell became the first player to captain Cambridge University for two years in succession while Scott Weenink and Gary Paulin both appeared in the Varsity match for Oxford and Cambridge respectively.
More recently, Paul Steinmetz, Inoke Afeaki, Jason Spice and Tanner Vili have excelled in both the Wellington Lions and Super 12 team the Wellington Hurricanes, while Shannon Paku's exciting play was rewarded with selection in the Wellington Lions, the NZRFU Academy, the New Zealand Sevens Squad and the New Zealand Colts in 2001.
In 1999 Harlequins won its first major trophy, defeating Avalon in a hard-fought final at Athletic Park to win the Hardham Cup. Athletic Park had long been the home ground of the Victoria University Rugby Club and latterly Harlequins, so it was fitting given the imminent demolition of Athletic Park that the club participated in the last of the club finals ever to be played at the 'Home of Rugby'.
At the end of the 1999 season, club members voted to change the club's playing name from Harlequins to Old Boys - University to better reflect the club's identity and traditional relationships with both Victoria University and Wellington College.
October 2001
