Kara Pryor

Kara Pryor

Personal information
Born	2 April 1991
Height	1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	104 kg (16 st 5 lb)
Relatives	Dan Pryor (brother)
Club information
Playing position	Loose forward
Current club	Northland / Blues
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Pts)^†
2012−13	Auckland	13	(5)
2014−	Northland	29	(15)
2016−	Blues	13	(10)
Representative team(s)^‡
2016−	Māori All Blacks	2	(0)
* Senior club appearances and points correct as of 2 November 2016. † Appearances (Points). ‡ Representative team caps and points correct as of 26 November 2016.

Kara Pryor (born 2 April 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a loose forward for the Blues in the international Super Rugby competition and for Northland in New Zealand's domestic Mitre 10 Cup.^[1][2][3][4]

Senior Career

Pryor started out his national provincial championship career with Auckland and played 13 times for them before heading north to play alongside older brother Dan with the Northland Taniwha. He debuted for the Taniwha at the start of the 2014 season and instantly became an important member of their side, forming a strong loose forward combination along with his brother as well as Tongan international Jack Ram.

Pryor's first season with Northland coincided with an upturn in fortunes for what is traditionally one of New Zealand's weaker provinces. They finished 3rd on the Championship log with Pryor appearing in all 11 of their games during the season and contributing 1 try. Just over half of his appearances in 2014 were from the start, but by 2015, he was firmly established as one of the first names on the teamsheet, playing 10 times, 9 times from the start and once from the bench in what was a tough season for Northland which saw them finish bottom of the Championship with no wins. 2016 saw an upturn in performances for the Taniwha but with little to show for it in terms of results, only 1 win in 10 games again confined them to the Championship wooden spoon, Pryor however, was in fine form. Held back by injury in the early part of the year, he still managed 7 appearances, all from the start and 1 try.^[2][4]

Super Rugby

Fine form domestically for Auckland and later Northland brought Pryor to the attention of local Super Rugby franchise, the Blues. He turned out for their development side in 2014 and 2015 and also provided injury cover during the 2015 season. He was named as part of their senior squad for the first time ahead of the 2016 Super Rugby season.^[5] On a personal note, his first season of Super Rugby went well as he featured in 13 of the Blues 15 games and netted 2 tries. The majority of his appearances in his first season came from the replacements bench as he faced stiff competition from the other Blues loose forwards such as All Blacks; Jerome Kaino and Steve Luatua.^[2]

International

In October 2016 Pryor, who affiliates to the Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Pikiao, and Ngāti Rangitihi iwi, was named in the Māori All Blacks team for their end-of-year tour to the Northern Hemisphere.^[6] He debuted in the number 7 jersey in their 54-7 victory over the United States on 4 November 2016.^[7]

Super Rugby Statistics

As of 26 November 2016^[4]

Season	Team	Games	Starts	Sub	Mins	Tries	Cons	Pens	Drops	Points	Yel	Red
2016	Blues	13	4	9	403	2	0	0	0	10	0	0
Total		13	4	9	403	2	0	0	0	10	0	0

References

1. "Blues 2017 Squad Guide" (PDF). All Blacks.com. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
2. "Kara Pryor Blues Player Profile". Blues Rugby. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
3. "Kara Pryor Northland Taniwha Player Profile". Taniwha Rugby. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
4. "Kara Pryor itsrugby.co.uk Player Statistics". itsrugby.co.uk. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
5. "Blues 2016 Squad Guide" (PDF). All Blacks Rugby. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
6. "Six new caps named in Maori All Blacks". RNZ News. 25 October 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
7. "USA vs Maori All Blacks Match Report". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 29 October 2015.