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Iestyn Harris
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Iestyn Harris | |
| Date of birth | June 25, 1976 (age 30) | |
| Place of birth | Oldham, England, | |
| Height | 6ft | |
| Nickname | The Wizard | |
| Position | Stand Off | |
| Professional clubs* | ||
| 1995-1997 1997-2001 2001-2004 2004- |
Warrington Wolves Leeds Rhinos Cardiff Blues Bradford Bulls |
??? ??? ??? 67(24) |
| National team | ||
| 1996-2005 1996- 2001-2004 |
Great Britain Wales RL Wales RU |
15(???) 17(12) 25(???) |
|
* Professional club appearances and (tries) |
||
Iestyn Harris (born 25 June 1976 in Oldham, England) is a dual-code international rugby player.
Contents |
His Abercarn-born grandfather Norman played for Ebbw Vale, Pontypool and Newbridge before heading north to win eight Welsh caps under league rules [1]
Harris was born in Oldham, England, but qualified for Wales through his father. His career in rugby began with league club Warrington before a record breaking £350,000 transfer to Leeds Rhinos in 1997. He was appointed captain in his first full season at the age of twenty one, and became the first Leeds skipper in a decade to lift silverware when Leeds claimed the 1999 Challenge Cup.
Harris initially played at full back before being switched to stand-off. In 1998 he collected the annual Man of Steel trophy as the best player in Super League. A superb goal kicker, he broke the club record for goals in a season in 1999 with 168, and broke the 2,000 career points total two years later.
In 2001 he had a £1.5 Million move to Cardiff Blues and Wales, hailed as the "saviour of Welsh rugby" who would help Wales return to the glory years of the 1970s. It is rumoured that England coach Sir Clive Woodward repeatedly offered Harris a place in the England side, in preparation for the 2003 Rugby World Cup.
He was expected to be the next Welsh fly-half, a position which Wales had been blessed with good players in the past. However, he was thrown into the Welsh side on 10 November 2001 versus Argentina in Cardiff, which Wales lost 16-30. However, having only played 200 minutes of rugby union before his international debut he struggled, particularly with his tactical kicking. This led to a move to inside centre, where he could be creative with less pressure. This culminated in their strong performance in the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia, where Wales finally lost to eventual winners England, despite taking the lead for 60 minutes. Harris proved to be a good union player gaining 25 Wales caps, but nowhere near the mercurial heights expected of him and his price tag [2]
In 2004 he returned to rugby league citing family reasons, joining the Bradford Bulls after a contractual fight with former club Leeds [3] Harris wrote a book, published in October 2005, detailing his moves between codes called Iestyn Harris: There and Back - My Journey from League to Union and Back Again. [4] Harris was part of the 2005 Bradford Bulls squad that became the first side in the history of Super League to win the Grand Final when finishing third in the final league ladder.
Iestyn was Bradford Bulls captain for one year in 2006 taking over from Leeds-bound Jamie Peacock. In his time as captain Bradford Bulls won the 2006 Carnegie World Club Challenge after defeating 2005's Australian Champions, the Wests Tigers.
On 10 May 2006, Harris announced he would be retiring from playing international rugby league with Great Britain, just a week after being named in a 36-strong training squad for June 2006 Test against New Zealand [5] Harris, who won the last of his 15 caps against Australia in November 2005, says he wants to concentrate on his club career. On September 26 2006, he confirmed that he will play for Wales against Scotland at the Brewery Field, Bridgend in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup qualifying match on Sunday October 29th 2006.
Harris lives in Todmorden, Lancashire. He has a sister, Rhian (her children are Dewi and Emrys); and his wife is Becky is a proud mother to daughter Catrin.
- ^ Iestyn: Angel of the north
- ^ A dream unfulfilled
- ^ Harris defends Bulls choice
- ^ Iestyn Harris: There and Back - My Journey from League to Union and Back Again
- ^ Harris retires from Britain duty
| Bradford Bulls - Current Squad |
|---|
|
1 Marcus St Hilaire | 2 Nathan McAvoy | 3 Ben Harris | 4 Shontayne Hape | 5 Lesley Vainikolo | 6 Iestyn Harris | 7 Paul Deacon | 8 Joe Vagana | 9 Terry Newton | 10 Andy Lynch | 11 Chris McKenna | 12 Glenn Morrison | 13 Jamie Langley | 14 Chris Feather | 15 Matt Cook | 16 Ian Henderson | 17 James Evans | 18 Sam Burgess | 19 Michael Platt | 22 Craig Kopczak | 23 Matt James | 24 Dave Halley | 25 Jason Crookes | 26 David Solomona |
| Wales squad - 2003 Rugby World Cup | ||
|---|---|---|
| Forwards: | Bennett • Charvis (c) • Cockbain • Davies • Jenkins • A.Jones • D.Jones • D.Jones • Llewellyn • McBryde • Popham • Sidoli • I.Thomas • J.Thomas • M.Williams • Wyatt |  |
| Backs: | Cooper • Evans • Harris • M.Jones • S.Jones • Morgan • Parker • Peel • Shanklin • Sweeney • Taylor • Thomas • R.Williams • S.Williams | |
| Coach: | Hansen | |