Chris Harris
Birth nameChristopher James Harris
Date of birth (1990-12-28) 28 December 1990 (age 33)
Place of birthCarlisle, England
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight104 kg (16 st 5 lb; 229 lb)
UniversityNorthumbria University
Rugby union career
Position(s) Centre
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2009–2014 Tynedale 47 (118)
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014−2019
2014−2015
2019–		 Newcastle Falcons
→Rotherham Titans
Gloucester Rugby		 77
6
51		 (55)
(0)
(75)
Correct as of 23 October 2022
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2013
2017–
2021		 England Counties
Scotland
British & Irish Lions		 2
46
1		 (15)
(30)
(0)
Correct as of 30 September 2023

Christopher James Harris (born 28 December 1990) is a rugby union player who plays centre for Gloucester in Premiership Rugby and for Scotland.

Early life and education

Harris was born in Cumbria, England,[1] and attended Trinity School, Carlisle. He played rugby whilst young at Carlisle rugby club. He married long time girlfriend Ruby Wilkinson on 13 August 2022.[1]

He studied at Northumbria University, gaining a 2:1 BSc in Architectural Technology in 2013.[2]

Rugby playing career

Club

Harris was dual registered with Tynedale RFC in National League 1 and also had a loan spell with Rotherham Titans in the Championship.[3]

In October 2014 Harris made his professional debut for the Newcastle Falcons, scoring a try against București Wolves in the European Challenge Cup.[4] In December 2014, Harris scored two tries on his Premiership debut against Saracens.[5]

With the Falcons being relegated, Harris joined Gloucester for the start of the 2019-20 season [6]

International

In June 2013, Harris scored a try for England Counties XV against Belgium.[7]

In October 2017, Harris received his first call up to the senior Scotland squad by coach Gregor Townsend for the Autumn Internationals.[8] Harris is Scottish qualified through his Edinburgh born grandmother.[9] On 11 November 2017, Harris made his test debut at Murrayfield against Samoa.[10] Harris started in the first Six Nations game against Wales in 2018. He scored his first try for Scotland in a game vs Italy 2019 Six Nations, scoring just minutes after making an appearance off the bench and scored the winning try for Scotland against France at Murrayfield. He appeared for Scotland in the 2019 Rugby World Cup fixtures and continued his form to play in every match for 2020 Six Nations.

Harris played in all five matches of the 2021 Six Nations, including stirring away victories at both Twickenham and in Paris.[11] Gregor Townsend said that Harris was one of Scotland's "defensive leaders."[12]

In 2023 Harris was selected in Scotland's 33 player squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.[13]

British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa, 2021

Harris was selected in the starting line-up for the second Test match.[14]

International statistics

Appearances and tries by national team and year
National team Year Apps Tries
Scotland 2017 1 0
2018 5 0
2019 8 2
2020 9 1
2021 8 0
2022 8 2
2023 7 1
Total 46 6
Appearances and tries by national team and year
National team Year Apps Tries
British & Irish Lions 2021 1 0
Total 1 0

References

  1. ^ a b Colman, Jon (6 May 2021). "Pride as Carlisle-born Chris Harris handed British & Irish Lions call-up". News and Star. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  2. ^ "Fans and journalists don't rate him, but this Scottish 'nobody' hasn't given up on winning them over". amp.rugbypass.com. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  3. ^ "RFU Championship: Rotherham bring in four Newcastle academy players for 2014/15". Sky Sports. 20 May 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  4. ^ "Challenge Cup: Newcastle Falcons 43-19 Bucuresti Wolves". BBC Sport. 17 October 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  5. ^ "Newcastle Falcons 23-25 Saracens report: Fans flock for Falcons' day of drama". Evening Chronicle. Newcastle. 27 December 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  6. ^ "GLOUCESTER RUGBY SIGN SCOTLAND INTERNATIONAL CENTRE CHRIS HARRIS". Gloucester Rugby. 6 June 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  7. ^ "Clean sweep for England Counties in Belgium". Rugby Football Union. 18 June 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  8. ^ "Scotland: Gregor Townsend calls up 10 new caps for autumn Tests". BBC Sport. 24 October 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  9. ^ "Carlisle's Chris Harris named in Scotland squad". ITV. 24 October 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  10. ^ "Autumn international: Scotland 44-38 Samoa". BBC Sport. 11 November 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  11. ^ "Chris Harris". Scottish Rugby Union. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  12. ^ "Rugby Union Weekly - Lions pod: Coaches, captains and the chairman - BBC Sounds". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  13. ^ "Scotland squad named for Rugby World Cup 2023". Scottish Rugby Union.
  14. ^ "Lukhanyo Am seals South Africa victory on painful night for British & Irish Lions". Guardian. 31 July 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.

External links

Gloucester Rugby – current squad
Scotland squad – 2019 Rugby World Cup
British & Irish Lions – 2021 South Africa tour
Categories