Tohu Harris (born 7 January 1992) is a New Zealand professional

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 11 ...

footballer who plays as a and forward and captains the

New Zealand Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...

in the NRL, and

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 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and the New Zealand Māori at international level. He previously played for the

Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm are a rugby league club based in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia that participates in the National Rugby League. The first fully professional rugby league team based in the state, the Storm entered the competition in 1998. ...

with whom he won the

2017 NRL Grand Final The 2017 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2017 National Rugby League season and was played on Sunday October 1 at Sydney's ANZ Stadium. The match was contested between minor premiers the Melbourne Storm a ...

Background

Harris was born in Hastings, New Zealand, and is of Maori descent. Harris played his junior football for the Tamatea

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

club and attended

Hastings Boys' High School Hastings Boys' High School is a boys' secondary school in Hastings, New Zealand. The school is part of the Super 8. The school was founded in 1904 as Hastings High School. In 1922, it became Hastings Technical School under the leadership of Wi ...

before being signed by the

. In 2007, Harris played for the New Zealand U15's team. Harris played for the Storm's

NYC New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

team from 2010 to 2012, scoring 25 tries in 49 games.

Playing career

2013

Harris played as a and scored a try in the

2013 World Club Challenge The 2013 World Club Challenge (PROBIZ World Club Challenge for sponsorship purposes) was the fourteenth consecutive annual World Club Challenge and was contested by Super League XVII champions, Leeds Rhinos and 2012 NRL Premiers, the Melbourne ...

18-14 win over the

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club was formed in 1870 as Leeds St John's and play in the Super League, the top tier of English rugby league. They have played home matches at Headin ...

. In Round 1 of the

2013 NRL season The 2013 NRL season was the 106th season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia. The National Rugby League's main competition, named the 2013 Telstra Premiership after major sponsors Telstra Corporation, was contested by sixte ...

, Harris made his NRL debut for the Storm against the St. George Illawarra Dragons at second-row in the 30-10 win at AAMI Park. Harris was called up to the

New Zealand national rugby league team The New Zealand national rugby league team ( Māori: Tīma rīki motu Aotearoa) has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of ...

squad as 18th man for the

2013 Anzac Test The 2013 ANZAC test (also known as the VB Test due to sponsorship by Victoria Bitter) was the 14th annual Anzac test, and was not only the first time the Australian Kangaroos played at Canberra Stadium, but the first time they had played in the ...

, replacing

Jeremy Smith Jeremy Smith may refer to: *Jeremy Theron Smith a man charged with aggravated assault for wounding three women in Koreatown Dallas on 17 May 2022 *Jeremy Smith (Royal Navy officer) (fl. 1660s), British sailor * Jeremy C. Smith (born 1959), British b ...

. Harris was promoted to the playing squad on the day of the test match when captain

Simon Mannering Simon Alexander Mannering (born 28 August 1986) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. He played for the New Zealand Warriors in the NRL. A New Zealand international second row forward, ...

was ruled out with a calf injury and made his debut for New Zealand on 19 April 2013 in the Kiwis 32-12 loss against Australia. In Round 13 against the

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugby leag ...

, Harris scored his first NRL career try in the Storm's 38-6 win at AAMI Park. Harris finished his debut year in the NRL with him playing in 25 matches and scoring 2 tries for the

in the

. On 9 October, Harris was dropped from the New Zealand side for the 2013 World Cup, which had been announced a day earlier. The decision was made following the controversial change of mind of Sonny Bill Williams, who had previously ruled himself out of the competition, to join the squad. Harris turned down a position to tour with the squad and play in a pre-tournament match against the Cook Islands in order to have minor surgery and rest before the 2014 NRL pre-season began. Harris also refused to respond to Williams after the latter tried to reach out to him after the much publicized U-turn.

2014

In February, Harris was included in the Storm's inaugural

2014 Auckland Nines The 2014 NRL Auckland Nines (known as the Dick Smith NRL Auckland Nines due to sponsorship) was the first NRL Auckland Nines tournament, contested between all sixteen teams of the National Rugby League. The draw was released on 30 October 2014. ...

squad. In Round 4 against the

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilit ...

, after

Cameron Smith Cameron Smith may refer to: * Cameron Smith (rugby league, born 1983), Australian rugby league footballer * Cameron Smith (rugby league, born 1998), English rugby league footballer * Cameron Smith (golfer) (born 1993), Australian golfer * Cammy Smi ...

suffered a back spasm in the warm up, Harris was appointed the goal kicker; he kicked 2 goals in the 40-12 loss. In the

2014 Anzac Test The 2014 Anzac Test was a rugby league test match played between Australia and New Zealand at Allianz Stadium in Sydney on 2 May 2014. It was the 15th Anzac Test played between the two nations since the first was played under the Super League ...

, Harris was selected to play off the interchange bench but was shifted to start at over debutant

Isaac John Isaac John (born 12 December 1988) is a former New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who previously played for the Mount Pritchard Mounties in the Intrust Super Premiership. A Cook Islands and New Zealand international representati ...

. He scored a try in the Kiwis 30-18 loss. On 7 May, Harris re-signed with the Storm on a 3-year contract keeping him with the club till the end of the 2017 season. Harris played in all of the Storm's 25 matches, kicking 2 goals. Harris played for

in the 2014 Four Nations. He came off the interchange bench in the Kiwis' 22-18 final win over Australia.

2015

On 3 May, Harris played for New Zealand in the 2015 Anzac Test, playing at second-row in the Kiwis' 26-12 win. In July, the Storm played the first ever NRL game at

McLean Park McLean Park is a sports ground in Napier, New Zealand. The two main sports played at the ground are cricket and rugby union. It is one of the largest cricket grounds in New Zealand. McLean Park is a sports ground of international standards ...

in Napier, New Zealand, against the

St George Illawarra Dragons The St. George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George, Sydney, St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League since NR ...

. Harris designed the team's jersey for the occasion. The Storm won the match 22-4. Harris played in all of the Storm's 26 matches for the season, scoring 5 tries and kicking 3 goals. He was selected in the 23-man New Zealand squad to tour England, playing in all 3 matches of a 2-1

Baskerville Shield The Baskerville Shield is a trophy awarded to the winner of rugby league test series between England and New Zealand. It named in honour of Albert Henry Baskerville, who organised the first ever tour by New Zealand of Great Britain in 1907. Th ...

series loss. He scored 1 try, in the first test.

2016

In the pre-season, Harris played in the

2016 NRL Auckland Nines The 2016 NRL Auckland Nines (known as the Downer NRL Auckland Nines due to sponsorship) was the third NRL Auckland Nines competition. It was held on 6–7 February 2016 at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand. As with previous tournaments, it was ...

squad. On 6 May, Harris played at centre for New Zealand in the

2016 Anzac Test The 2016 Anzac Test (known as the Downer Anzac Test due to sponsorship) was a rugby league test match played between Australia and New Zealand at Hunter Stadium in Newcastle. It was the 17th Anzac Test played between the two nations since the ...

, as they lost 16-0. In Round 26 against the

, he played his 100th NRL match in a 26-6 win at AAMI Park. On 2 October, in the Storm’s

2016 NRL Grand Final The 2016 NRL Grand Final was a rugby league match between the Melbourne Storm and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks to determine the premiers of the National Rugby League for the 2016 season. The match was held at Sydney's ANZ Stadium on Sunday ...

against the

, Harris started at second-row in the 14-12 defeat. Harris again played in all the Storm’s 27 matches for the season, scoring 8 tries and kicking 1 goal. In the 2016 Four Nations tournament, he played in 4 matches, including starting at fullback and scoring 2 tries in the 34-8 final loss against Australia.

2017

On 31 January, it was announced that Harris signed a lucrative 4-year deal with the

, starting in 2018. Harris said about of the signing, "I’ve had a great time with the Storm and I owe them so much for what they’ve done for me. Coming home to play for the Warriors is a fantastic opportunity, though. The club has a great roster with so many Kiwi boys there and being back in New Zealand closer to family is a big attraction". Harris missed the first two months of the season after suffering a foot injury in the off-season. He made his first appearance of the season in Round 10 against the

Gold Coast Titans The Gold Coast Titans are a professional rugby league football club, based on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australia and New Zealand's national rugby league club competition. The ...

, in a shock 38-36 upset loss at

Suncorp Stadium Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Milton. The current facility co ...

. On 1 October, in the Storm’s

against the

North Queensland Cowboys The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest town in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL). Sinc ...

, Harris started at second-row and had a blinder of a performance in the 34-6 victory. In his last year with the

he played in 14 matches, scoring 3 tries and kicking 1 goal. After the grand final victory, Harris was ruled out of the

2017 Rugby League World Cup The 2017 Rugby League World Cup was the fifteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup tournament and took place in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea between 27 October and 2 December 2017. The tournament featured the national teams ...

due to niggling shoulder and foot injuries.

2018

In Round 1 of the

2018 NRL season The 2018 NRL season was the 111th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 21st season run by the National Rugby League. The main competition, known as the 2018 Telstra Premiership due to sponsorship from Telstra, featured 16 team ...

, Harris made his club debut for the New Zealand Warriors against the

South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional Australian rugby league club based in Redfern, a suburb of inner-southern Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and are one of nine existing tea ...

, starting at second-row in the 32-20 win at

Perth Stadium Perth Stadium, currently known as Optus Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Perth, Western Australia, located in the suburb of Burswood. It was completed in late 2017 and officially opened on 21 January 2018. The s ...

2019 & 2020

In the

2019 NRL season The 2019 NRL season was the 112th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 22nd season run by the National Rugby League. The Sydney Roosters became the first team to win back-to-back Premierships since the Brisbane Broncos in 1992 ...

, he made 13 appearances as the club missed out on the finals. In the

2020 NRL season The 2020 NRL season was the 113th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 23rd season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 14th consecutive year. ; Notes : : : Pre-seaso ...

, Harris played 20 games as the

again missed out on the finals.

2021

On 18 July, Harris was ruled out for the remainder of the

2021 NRL season The 2021 NRL season was the 114th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 24th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 15th consecutive year. Regular season Ladd ...

after suffering an ACL injury in the club's loss against Penrith.

2022

Harris made a total of 15 appearances for the New Zealand Warriors in the

2022 NRL season The 2022 NRL season is the 115th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 25th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 16th consecutive year. This became the second longest s ...

as they finished 15th on the table.

Honours

Winners *

Runner-up *

Winners * 2020 NRL Second Rower of the Year

Personal life

Harris married his wife Natalie in January 2014.

References

External links

New Zealand Warriors profileNRL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Tohu 1992 births Living people New Zealand rugby league players Ngāti Kahungunu people New Zealand Māori rugby league players New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand Māori rugby league team players Melbourne Storm players New Zealand Warriors players Junior Kiwis players Rugby league second-rows Rugby league locks Rugby league centres Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league players from Hawke's Bay Region Sunshine Coast Falcons players