I think my brain is about to explode.
How, in the wide world, did harlequin, effeminate doppelgänger that he is in comparison to the virile and adolescent Arlecchino, become associated with Rugby, of all things?
Check out this search through Google: “harlequin + rugby”.
I’m boggled.
UPDATE: In an e-mail conversation with the UK Harlequins, the story becomes clear. All the other teams named Harlequin followed after this original. In 1870, the Hampstead Football Club was renamed. The decision to use Harlequin was made to keep the initial H and a dictionary was used to select the new name. Check out the club history page at the NEC Harlequins Offical Site.