Cardiff Harlequins was formed around 1879 in Cardiff, as Roath Star, and after a year or two, they changed their name to Roath Mohawks for the 1881/1882 season. The Roath Mohawks played in Roath Court field. Their main rivals were a team called Windsor, who played in Cathays, where Senghenydd Road now stands. The two clubs decided to merge for the 1882/1883 season, and rename themselves as the Cardiff Harlequins. The Harlequins now played at the Sophia Gardens. In 1886, the Harlequins moved into their own ground, a field off Penarth Road. They called this ground the Harlequins' Ground. Although in the shadow of first class team
Cardiff RFC, 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,
Mountain Ash, Cardiff and
Llanelli and later became a popular opponent for touring teams from the West of England, such as
Bristol. 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, a forward with the club, was chosen for the
1891 Home Nations Championship to face
England at Newport. Bennett won four caps in total between 1891 and 1892. In
1892,
Frederick Nicholls was also selected, playing in the same game against
Ireland as Bennett. In 1892,
Gwyn Nicholls, 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. 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. During the beginning of the 1894/1895 season, Cardiff Harlequins merged with Cardiff AFC to form Cardiff Association Football and Harlequins' Athletic Club, often just referred to as Cardiff Association Football Club, leaving rugby behind and playing only association football at the Harlequins' Ground in Cardiff. They did continue to play rugby, but only on Wednesdays. However, they returned to playing rugby on Saturdays in late 1895 until dissolving in April 1897. ==Notable former players==