Samuel Richard Harris (born 30 January 1980) is a former
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...
-born,
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal ...
professional
rugby football
Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league.
Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...
er and previously head coach of the
Austin Gilgronis
The Austin Gilgronis were a professional rugby union team based in Austin, Texas, United States. The team was founded in 2017 as the Austin Elite, and competed in Major League Rugby.
History
On September 19, 2019, after extensive polling at th ...
of
Major League Rugby
Major League Rugby (MLR or USMLR) is a professional rugby union competition and the top-level championship for clubs in North America. In the 2022 season it was contested by thirteen teams: twelve from the United States and one from Canada. Of ...
(MLR).
He is of
New Zealand Maori descent.
He played representative
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
for City NSW and in the
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
for the
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rug ...
and
Wests Tigers
The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a joint-venture ...
clubs. His usual position was in the
second row. Harris also played
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...
for the
NSW Waratahs
The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby competition. The Riverina and other southern parts of the stat ...
and
Western Force
The Western Force is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Perth, Western Australia, currently competing in Super Rugby Pacific. They previously played in Super Rugby from 2006 until they were axed from the competition in 2017. F ...
in the
Super 14
Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...
competition and the Warringah Rats and Manly Marlins in the Shute Shield and for the Central Coast Rays in the ARC competition.
Harris' only representative appearance in
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
came in 2004 when he played for City in the annual City v. Country match. His first match for the
Wests Tigers
The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a joint-venture ...
was their loss to the
Bradford Bulls
The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is pre ...
in the
2006 World Club Challenge
The 2006 World Club Challenge was a Rugby league match held on Friday, 3 February 2006, at Galpharm Stadium, Huddersfield, UK. The game was contested by Bradford Bulls and Wests Tigers.
Qualification Bradford Bulls
Bradford Bulls qualified for ...
.
He returned to
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...
in 2007 when he signed on with the
Waratahs franchise for the
2007 Super 14
The 2007 Super 14 season started in February 2007 with preseason matches held from mid-January. It finished on 19 May with the final at ABSA Stadium in Durban, in the first final between two South African teams in the history of Super Rugby. The ...
competition playing at
centre
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricit ...
. At the conclusion of the 2008 season Harris went to Japan to play for Honda Heat for a season before returning to Australia and playing for the Western Force in the 2010. At the conclusion of the 2010 season he retired from playing.
Coaching
Harris moved into coaching and started his coaching career with the Warringah Rats in 2011. After 2 seasons as head coach with the Rats he returned to Japan and the Honda Heat to be an assistant coach for 4 seasons before moving onto Ricoh Black Rams to be an assistant coach for 3 seasons. At the conclusion of the 2020 season he moved to Austin Gilgronis to be their head coach for 2 seasons.
Career highlights
*''Junior Club:'' Avalon Bulldogs
*''First Grade Debut:'' Round 10, Manly v Parramatta at Brookvale Oval, 18 May 2003
*''First Grade Record:'' 64 appearances scoring 10 tries & 3 goals
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Sam
1980 births
Living people
New Zealand rugby union players
New Zealand rugby league players
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles players
Wests Tigers players
New South Wales Waratahs players
New South Wales City Origin rugby league team players
Rugby union players from Auckland
Rugby league second-rows