ZOE HARRIS has become the latest St Helens player to announce she will retire at the end of the current season.
Following Jodie Cunningham and Emily Rudge’s decision that this season is their last in the game, Harris will also hang up her boots after being involved with the club since the very beginning in 2018.
In that time Harris has helped St Helens to a run of four consecutive Challenge Cup Final victories, two League Leaders’ Shields and the 2021 Super League title.
She was named Player of the Match in the 2024 Cup Final at Wembley, and her appearance there earlier this year marked her 100th game for St Helens.
As an England international, Harris has represented her country on six occasions, including at the 2022 World Cup.
It’s not a bad record for someone who only joined the club after being encouraged to attend the a trial by her friend, and now teammate Chantelle Crowl.
“I’ve completely lived out the dream,” said the 32-year-old lifelong Saints fan Harris.
“Looking back over the last couple of years and everything we’ve achieved as a club, winning the treble and the four Challenge Cups in a row, going to Wembley – they are amazing memories.
“I think the best memory for me was when the men and women both won the Challenge Cup in 2021, and we had the open-top bus going around St Helens. I don’t know why, but that stands out completely above everything else. It’s my hometown, and seeing my family, friends and people I used to go to school with standing there waving was something that words actually can’t describe. It meant so much to me.
“It’s been an absolute privilege (to play for the club). Thank you to them for everything, and all the opportunities to represent my home town and wear that badge with pride every time I step on the field.
“I’ve shared a pitch with some unbelievable players, but more importantly some unbelievable people.”
Craig Richards, St Helens’ Head of Rugby for Academy and Pathways, paid tribute to Harris, and has backed her to remain in the game in the future.
“We all know the player Zoe Harris is, but what stands out for me is more about the person she is,” he said.
“She’s been absolutely brilliant and an inspiration around the place, and it’s been such a pleasure to be part of her journey.
“We wish her all the best in retirement, but there’s no doubt she’ll crop up in the game as a coach or in some other form at some stage. She’s got a wealth of knowledge, and we need to keep her in the game.”