Darran Harris

Darran Harris (born 11 November 1992)^[1] is a Welsh rugby union player.^[2] He plays for RFU Championship side, Rotherham Titans as a hooker.

Darran Harris

Birth name	Darran Harris
Date of birth	(1992-11-11) 11 November 1992 (age 31)
Place of birth	Brecon, Wales
Height	180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	102 kg (225 lb)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Hooker, prop Youth career Brecon Merthyr Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2010–2011 Merthyr () 2011–2013 Pontypridd 34 (?) 2013–2015 Scarlets 10 (5) 2013–2015 Llanelli 41 (20) 2014 Carmarthen Quins 2 (0) 2015–2016 Rotherham Titans 0 (0) 2016–2017 Newport Gwent Dragons 5 (0) 2016–2017 Bedwas 7 (0) 2016–2017 Ebbw Vale () International career Years Team Apps (Points) Wales U16 Wales U18 Wales U20

Career

Born in Brecon, Harris started playing rugby at Brecon RFC as a prop before moving to the youth ranks of Merthyr RFC. During this time, he played for the youth team of the Welsh region of Cardiff Blues. While playing for the Blues, he was mentored by Dale McIntosh who convinced him to move to Pontypridd RFC in 2011^[3] and changed him from a prop to a hooker.^[4] In 2013, he was part of the Pontypridd Welsh Premier Division and WRU Challenge Cup double-winning team. The next season, he left the Cardiff Blues region to move to Llanelli RFC which allowed him to play for Scarlets.^[5] He made his Scarlets debut in the Anglo-Welsh Cup against Saracens.^[6] He also played for Scarlets in the Premiership Sevens tournament.^[7] In 2015, Harris left Scarlets and Wales to play in England for RFU Championship Rotherham Titans for development.^[8]

When he joined the club, he was tipped to be Rotherham's first-choice hooker.^[9] After suffering an ankle injury in Rotherham's pre-season, he made his debut for Rotherham in the RFU Championship against Cornish Pirates.^[10] After four games of the season, Harris later suffered a shoulder injury that ruled him out of contention for a large part of Rotherham's 2015–16 RFU Championship season.^[9] After a year in England, Harris returned to Wales with the Dragons,^[11] for whom he played five times (one start) before being released at the end of the 2016–17 season.^[12]

International career

In 2012, Harris was called up to the Wales national under-20 rugby union team, where he also played for them in the IRB Junior World Championship in South Africa.^[13]

References

1. "Darran Harris". ESPN. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
2. "Darren Harris". Scarlets. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
3. "Rugby: Merthyr players James Howe and Darren Harris move to Pontypridd RFC". Wales Online. 8 June 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
4. "Harris, Darran - Hall of Fame". Pontypridd RFC. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
5. "Scarlets add two promising youngsters". South Wales Evening Post. 3 July 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
6. Howell, Andy (15 November 2013). "Dragons and Scarlets give youngsters their heads in Anglo-Welsh Cup". Wales Online. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
7. Thomas, Simon (26 July 2014). "Cardiff Blues prove they are the magnificent sevens of Welsh regional rugby". Wales Online. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
8. "Scarlets hooker Darran Harris to join Rotherham". South Wales Evening Post. 19 April 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
9. . South Yorkshire Times. 6 January 2016. Archived from the original on 12 August 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
10. Williams, Guy (17 September 2015). . South Yorkshire Times. Archived from the original on 12 August 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
11. Vizard, Katie (10 June 2016). "Newport Gwent Dragons secure hooker Darran Harris". Dragons. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
12. "Dragons confirm quintet's departure". PlanetRugby. 13 May 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
13. "Junior World Championship 2012: Wales U20 74-3 Samoa U20". BBC Sport. 12 June 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2016.

External links

• Dragons profile