In 2007 local lawyer Matt Eason, local teacher Whit Poindexter, and local banker Rich Boyer started Land Park Motley, one of the first four youth rugby clubs in the Sacramento area. Whit was coaching Jesuit and Rich was coaching Christian Brothers at the time.  Matt, Whit, and Rich all had middle-school aged sons around the time of Motley’s inception and wanted to provide a community based rugby experience for youth. Matt was the driving force to make it happen. They had no name and no jerseys.  During one of their first games the ref commented that they were “motley,” because they had no matching jerseys.  Nineteen years later, Land Park Motley has produced dozens of college players, multiple All-Americans, an international referee, four senior USA Eagles, including Rich’s son Nick, and recent U20 Eagle John Henry Rouse, coach Cliff Rouse’s son.  Coaches John Buchholz and Lou Stanfill, former Eagles themselves, joined Motley in 2010 and 2024 respectively.

Most players were boys, though occasionally a girl would come through the ranks. Olivia Popp played for Motley ten years ago.  At the time there was no youth girls rugby program.  Olivia’s father Curtis, a local architect decided to start a girl’s program.  The Sacramento Harlequins were born. The first Harlequins coach, Naki Hopoi, led the club to quick initial success. Wes Hilger, Cliff Rouse, and Jeff Chenu assumed the role as coaches soon after. Ten years later, the Sacramento Harlequins has produced its own share of university players, many in the Ivy League, including Wes’s two daughters at Harvard, as well as U20 Eagles Olivia Popp and Dana Greer.

In 2019 Rich, Wes, and Cliff decided to create the Sacramento Rugby Union, or SRU, which combined Motley, Harlequins, and the then existing McClatchy Lions High School rugby teams. The SRU has existed for six years, with a mutual website but little collaboration in terms of fundraising, coaching, fields, etc.

In 2025 the board of the SRU decided to merge the Motley and Harlequins into one club: the Sacramento Harlequins.  The name comes from the girl’s club, while the logo is a blend of the colors and jester hat that the Motley wore.

Moving forward as one united club, we’re excited to offer youth rugby to boys and girls alike, in a welcoming, fun, and competitive environment.