Iestyn Harris

Born and raised in Oldham, Harris was signed by Warrington in 1992 at the age of 16, and he quickly established himself as a rising star. From there, he went from strength to strength, signing for Cardiff and playing in the 1995 Rugby League World Cup. In 1997, he transferred to Leeds Rhinos for a world-record fee of 375,000 and became the cornerstone of the Leeds revival. In 1998, he became Players' Player of the Season at Leeds after breaking the Rhinos' points record. The following year, at 21, Harris captained Leeds to a Challenge Cup final win, a victory which gave them their first major trophy in 30 years. The new millennium saw Harris named as captain of the Wales national team before returning to play rugby union with Cardiff in 2001. Around this time, Clive Woodward repeatedly offered Harris a place in the England side, but Harris has always been very conscious of his Welsh roots - his grandfather was Welsh - and he was not to be swayed. Within a month, he was playing for the Welsh international side and in the following years he proved a key player in the revival of the Welsh union team.This culminated in their strong performance in the 2003 Rugby Union World Cup in Australia, where they finally lost to eventual winners England, despite taking the lead for 60 minutes.