Iestyn Harris
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| Iestyn Harris | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Iestyn Harris | ||
| Date of birth | June 25, 1976 | ||
| Place of birth | Oldham, England |
||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Weight | 92 kg (14 st 7 lb) | ||
| Nickname | The Welsh Wizard | ||
| Rugby league career | |||
| Position | Stand-off | ||
| Professional clubs | Caps | (points) | |
| 1995–1997 1997–2001 2004– |
 Warrington Leeds Rhinos Bradford Bulls |
40 139 83 |
(?) (1455) (260) |
| National teams | |||
| 1996–2005 1996– |
 Great Britain Wales Lancashire |
15 17 |
(?) (145) |
| Rugby union career | |||
| Playing career | |||
| Position | Fly-half, inside centre | ||
| Clubs | Caps | (points) | |
| 2001–2004 |  Cardiff Blues |
70 | (?) |
| National team(s) | |||
| 2001–2004 | Wales |
25 | (108) |
Iestyn Harris (born 25 June 1976 in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England) is a professional Rugby League player for Bradford Bulls in the Super League. He is a former Man of Steel winner and has also represented Wales on numerous occasions at both codes of rugby.
Contents |
[edit] Career
His Abercarn-born grandfather Norman played for Ebbw Vale, Pontypool and Newbridge before heading north to win eight Welsh caps under league rules.[1]
[edit] Personal life
Harris lives in Todmorden, West Yorkshire. He has a sister, Rhian (her children are Dewi and Emrys), and he is married to Becky Harris, by whom he had his first and, to date, only daughter, Catrin.
Iestyn also manages RLPredictor.com with friend Steven Watkinson. The site is based around predicting the scores of the weekly Super League results to win cash prizes and tickets to games.
[edit] Warrington
His career in rugby began with league club Warrington, before a record breaking £350,000 transfer to Leeds Rhinos in 1997.
[edit] Leeds Rhinos
Harris was made captain of Leeds in his first full season at the club 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.
[edit] Cardiff and Wales RU
In 2001, Harris made a £1.5 million switch to Cardiff RFC 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.[citation needed]
Harris was expected to be the next Welsh fly-half, a position which Wales had been blessed with good players in the past.
[edit] Debut for Wales Rugby Union Side
Harris made his debut for the Welsh side on 10 November 2001, playing against Argentina in Cardiff; Wales lost 16–30. Having played only 200 minutes of rugby union before his international debut, Harris struggled, particularly with his tactical kicking. This led to a move to inside centre, where he could be creative with less pressure.
[edit] World Cup 2003
Harris played in the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia, where Wales lost in the quarter-finals to eventual winners, England, despite taking the lead for 60 minutes. Harris proved to be a good union player, winning 25 Wales caps, but nowhere near the mercurial heights expected of him and his price tag.[2]
[edit] Bradford Bulls
In 2004, Harris returned to rugby league, citing family reasons. He joined the Bradford Bulls after a contractual fight with former club Leeds.His salary was reputed to be £1millin over 4 seasons.[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.
[edit] Captain
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.
[edit] 2006
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 would continue to play for Wales, and was scheduled to return to the side against Scotland at the Brewery Field, Bridgend in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup qualifying match on Sunday October 29th 2006, but was forced to pull out through injury hours before kick-off.
[edit] 2008
Harris kicked a club record 15 goals against Toulose in record 98 - 6 win on. 19 April 2008. Iestyn Harris intimates this could be his last season as a player in Rugby League he is continually linked with a coaching/playing role at Super League applicants and South Wales Team Celtic Crusaders based in Bridgend. It is rumoured he also expressed an intrest in the vacant coaching role at Rochdale Hornets (May 2008).Where his Grandfather once coached. That role has since been filled by ex Brisbane Bronco, London Bronco & Castleford forward Darren Shaw.
[edit] Statistics
[edit] Club Career
| Year | Club | Apps | Pts | T | G | FG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993-94 | Warrington Wolves |
10 | 54 | 4 | 19 | - |
| 1994-95 | Warrington Wolves |
39 | 148 | 18 | 38 | - |
| 1995-96 | Warrington Wolves |
23 | 156 | 11 | 55 | 2 |
| 1996 | Warrington Wolves |
18 | 152 | 4 | 67 | 2 |
| 1997 | Warrington Wolves |
2 | 6 | - | 3 | - |
| 1997 | Leeds Rhinos |
25 | 183 | 7 | 77 | 1 |
| 1998 | Leeds Rhinos |
26 | 275 | 13 | 110 | 3 |
| 1999 | Leeds Rhinos |
31 | 343 | 18 | 135 | 1 |
| 2000 | Leeds Rhinos |
252 | 56 | 11 | 106 | - |
| 2001 | Leeds Rhinos |
18 | 185 | 8 | 76 | 1 |
| 2001-02 | Cardiff RFC |
- | - | - | - | - |
| 2002-03 | Cardiff RFC |
- | - | - | - | - |
| 2003-04 | Cardiff Blues |
- | - | - | - | - |
| 2004 | Bradford Bulls |
13 | 30 | 6 | 3 | - |
| 2005 | Bradford Bulls |
32 | 104 | 17 | 17 | 2 |
| 2006 | Bradford Bulls |
30 | 42 | 5 | 11 | - |
| 2007 | Bradford Bulls |
22 | 72 | 5 | 26 | - |
| 2008 | Bradford Bulls |
11 | 8 | - | 4 | - |
[edit] Representative Career
| Year | Team | Matches | Tries | Goals | Field Goals | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Great Britain |
1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| 2000 | Wales |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | Wales Rugby |
3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | Wales Rugby |
7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | Wales Rugby |
11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | Wales Rugby |
4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | Great Britain |
3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 2005 | Great Britain |
3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 16 |
[edit] References
[edit] External links
| Bradford Bulls |
|---|
| The Club Representatives • History • Statistics • Honours • Players |
| Seasons 1996 • 1997 •1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002• 2003 2004• 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 •2011 |
| Stadiums Greenfield Athletic Ground • Birth Lane • Grattan Stadium • Valley Parade |
| Captains Robbie Paul (1996-2004) • Jamie Peacock (2005) Iestyn Harris (2006) • Paul Deacon (2007 -present) |
| Coaches David Hobbs (1990 - 1993) • Peter Fox (1993-1995) Brian Smith (1995-1996) • Matthew Elliott (1996-2000) Brian Noble (2001-2006) • Steve McNamara (2006 - present) |
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