M
Marcus
Guest
Harris rules himself out of Ashes squad
<br clear=all> Welsh star Iestyn Harris looks set to switch codes
Rugby league star Iestyn Harris virtually confirmed his move to union on Thursday by ruling himself out of the Ashes series in November. Harris is expected to leave Leeds at the end of the Superleague season to join Welsh club Cardiff, and told Great Britain RL coach David Waite he couldn't commit to the Ashes. Rugby league director of rugby Greg McCallum said: "We met with Iestyn and Leeds chief executive Gary Hetherington last Sunday to check his availability for the Wales game. "Although he was keen to play in that match, he was ruled unfit by the medical people. "We then asked him if he was prepared to give a commitment for the Ashes series and he declined to give us that commitment." Waite said: "Obviously it's disappointing not to be able to include your top players. I'm sure that Chris Anderson (Australia coach) will be unhappy not to have Matt Rogers and Wendell Sailor available. "But I must stress it's an initial squad and there's plenty of opportunity to include and exclude players. "This is a reward for those players who have done well so far, but the chance is there until we finalise the squad after the St Helens v Australia game on 20 October." The 25-year-old Harris has long been admired in Union circles and is seen as part of Wales coach Graham Henry's vision for the future. He joined Warrington in 1993 where he came under the wing of dual-code international Jonathan Davies, and topped 500 points before being lured to Leeds. <!--THIS IS NEW--> <table cellspacing=1 cellpadding=0 width=150 align=right bgcolor=#003399 border=0> <tbody> <tr> <td bgcolor=#ffff66> Iestyn Harris </td></tr> <tr> <td bgcolor=#ffffff> Born: 25 June, 1976
Height: 5ft 10in
Weight: 13st 10lb
Warrington 1993-1997: 90 appearances (+2 sub); 37 tries; 182 goals; 4 drop goals; 516 points.
Leeds 1997-present: 111 appearances (+11 sub); 54 tries; 480 goals; 6 drop goals; 1182 points
Wales: 14 appearances; 8 tries; 30 goals; 1 drop goal; 93 points
Great Britain: 5 appearances (+2 sub); 1 try; 4 points.
<!--THIS IS NEW--></td></tr></tbody></table>
In four years at Headingley, he has played in a variety of positions - full-back, stand-off and scrum-half - but still clocked up over 50 tries in 117 appearances. In 1998, he received the Rugby League Writers' Player of the Year award as well as being voted the Man Of Steel. The following year he led his side to Challenge Cup final success at Wembley, before captaining Wales in the 1999 Rugby League World Cup. In Harris' absence for the three-match series against the Kangaroos which kicks off on November 3, Wigan loose forward Andy Farrell will once more captain Great Britain and he was joined by seven of his Warriors' team-mates, including former Gaellic footballer Brian Carney. The squad also includes former Leeds second rower Adrian Morley, who is currently playing for Sydney Roosters in the NRL. St Helens' Kieron Cunningham, who is also being linked to a move to the union game with Swansea, is included along with Wales team-mate Lee Briers, man-of-the-match in the international against England. Squad: P Anderson (Bradford), L Briers (Warrington), D Cardiss (Halifax), B Carney (Wigan), G Connolly (Wigan), F Cummins (Leeds), K Cunningham (St Helens), P Deacon (Bradford), A Farrell (Wigan, capt), S Fielden (Bradford), D Fleary (Leeds), L Gilmour (Bradford), D Hodgson (Wigan), P Johnson (Wigan), T Jonkers (St Helens), C Joynt (St Helens), P King (Hull), B McDermott (Leeds), T Martyn (St Helens), A Morley (Sydney), T Newton (Wigan), T O'Connor (Wigan), J Peacock (Bradford), K Pratt (Leeds), L Pryce (Bradford), L Radford (Bradford), K Radlinski (Wigan), P Sculthorpe (St Helens), K Senior (Leeds), K Sinfield (Leeds), T Smith (Hull), A Stewart (St Helens), N Sykes (Castleford), P Wellens (St Helens).
Rugby league star Iestyn Harris virtually confirmed his move to union on Thursday by ruling himself out of the Ashes series in November. Harris is expected to leave Leeds at the end of the Superleague season to join Welsh club Cardiff, and told Great Britain RL coach David Waite he couldn't commit to the Ashes. Rugby league director of rugby Greg McCallum said: "We met with Iestyn and Leeds chief executive Gary Hetherington last Sunday to check his availability for the Wales game. "Although he was keen to play in that match, he was ruled unfit by the medical people. "We then asked him if he was prepared to give a commitment for the Ashes series and he declined to give us that commitment." Waite said: "Obviously it's disappointing not to be able to include your top players. I'm sure that Chris Anderson (Australia coach) will be unhappy not to have Matt Rogers and Wendell Sailor available. "But I must stress it's an initial squad and there's plenty of opportunity to include and exclude players. "This is a reward for those players who have done well so far, but the chance is there until we finalise the squad after the St Helens v Australia game on 20 October." The 25-year-old Harris has long been admired in Union circles and is seen as part of Wales coach Graham Henry's vision for the future. He joined Warrington in 1993 where he came under the wing of dual-code international Jonathan Davies, and topped 500 points before being lured to Leeds. <!--THIS IS NEW--> <table cellspacing=1 cellpadding=0 width=150 align=right bgcolor=#003399 border=0> <tbody> <tr> <td bgcolor=#ffff66> Iestyn Harris </td></tr> <tr> <td bgcolor=#ffffff> Born: 25 June, 1976
Height: 5ft 10in
Weight: 13st 10lb
Warrington 1993-1997: 90 appearances (+2 sub); 37 tries; 182 goals; 4 drop goals; 516 points.
Leeds 1997-present: 111 appearances (+11 sub); 54 tries; 480 goals; 6 drop goals; 1182 points
Wales: 14 appearances; 8 tries; 30 goals; 1 drop goal; 93 points
Great Britain: 5 appearances (+2 sub); 1 try; 4 points.
<!--THIS IS NEW--></td></tr></tbody></table>
In four years at Headingley, he has played in a variety of positions - full-back, stand-off and scrum-half - but still clocked up over 50 tries in 117 appearances. In 1998, he received the Rugby League Writers' Player of the Year award as well as being voted the Man Of Steel. The following year he led his side to Challenge Cup final success at Wembley, before captaining Wales in the 1999 Rugby League World Cup. In Harris' absence for the three-match series against the Kangaroos which kicks off on November 3, Wigan loose forward Andy Farrell will once more captain Great Britain and he was joined by seven of his Warriors' team-mates, including former Gaellic footballer Brian Carney. The squad also includes former Leeds second rower Adrian Morley, who is currently playing for Sydney Roosters in the NRL. St Helens' Kieron Cunningham, who is also being linked to a move to the union game with Swansea, is included along with Wales team-mate Lee Briers, man-of-the-match in the international against England. Squad: P Anderson (Bradford), L Briers (Warrington), D Cardiss (Halifax), B Carney (Wigan), G Connolly (Wigan), F Cummins (Leeds), K Cunningham (St Helens), P Deacon (Bradford), A Farrell (Wigan, capt), S Fielden (Bradford), D Fleary (Leeds), L Gilmour (Bradford), D Hodgson (Wigan), P Johnson (Wigan), T Jonkers (St Helens), C Joynt (St Helens), P King (Hull), B McDermott (Leeds), T Martyn (St Helens), A Morley (Sydney), T Newton (Wigan), T O'Connor (Wigan), J Peacock (Bradford), K Pratt (Leeds), L Pryce (Bradford), L Radford (Bradford), K Radlinski (Wigan), P Sculthorpe (St Helens), K Senior (Leeds), K Sinfield (Leeds), T Smith (Hull), A Stewart (St Helens), N Sykes (Castleford), P Wellens (St Helens).
