Overseas Relations III

By Keith Jenner
September 9 2004

It has been something of a mixed bag from the overseas Quins teams since my last update back in May, but the overriding theme is of teams who are challenging for honours, but just falling short when the pressure is really on. Let's look at the three Quins teams which we have been following detail.

Dallas Harlequins

When I wrote my last report, the Rugby Super League was just entering the playoff stage and I was unsure whether Quins would qualify, as their progression depended on the result of the match between Olympic Club and Potomac AC, with either Quins or Potomac going through.

In the event, Potomac won the match, but didn’t secure the required points difference to overtake Quins, who went through to the Playoffs as the 4th team from the Blue Conference. Unfortunately, that meant that they faced an away tie against San Francisco Golden Gate, who had topped the Red Conference after going through the league stages unbeaten.

Despite taking an early lead (7-3), Quins were always under pressure and the first half ended 33-7 to San Francisco. The second half performance was better and the final score was a 45-19 defeat. San Francisco went on to reach the final.

Whilst San Fransisco had started strong favourites, it was a disappointment that Quins didn’t perform to their best in the match. However, it had been a reasonably successful season, qualifying for the playoffs once again, and the Colts had a very good year, winning a number of tournaments and finishing third in USA High School Championships.

At present, the club is preparing for the new season which starts in October for the under 23’s and in November for the first team. Once again, the target will be to progress into the Semi Finals (or maybe further) in the Super League next spring.

Kenya Harlequins

Back in May, Kenya Harlequins had played six matches in the Kenya Cup, winning five and losing one. They looked in a good position to defend their Kenya Cup title.

I must admit that finding information about Kenyan Rugby results is not the easiest task, as the web sites are updated very infrequently, so the information since that point is rather patchy. However, it does appear that a season which looked very promising back in May has ended in disappointment as Quins failed to retain their title from last season, losing to KCB in the Kenya Cup semi finals. The season is now drawing to its conclusion and Quins will be hoping that they can progress further next season.

Melbourne Harlequins

The Melbourne Harlequins have had another successful season, with two of the teams having reached the finals.

At the top of the pile, the first team have qualified for the Grand Final, to be played this Saturday (11th Sept). They will play their traditional rivals Melbourne Rugby Club in the final. Quins finished ahead of Melbourne in the league section and we all hope that they can win the title on Saturday.

Also, the Under 14’s B team have also reached their final to be played on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the club is continuing to prosper off the field, with the facilities being used by the Victoria Rugby Union for representative matches. The club members are also looking forward to their annual dinner later this month where the guest speaker is Nick Farr Jones. Let’s hope that they have a cup to show off.