 Pryor in 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Daniel Pryor | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | (1988-04-14)14 April 1988 (age 36) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Auckland, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 103 kg (16 st 3 lb; 227 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Auckland Grammar School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | Auckland University of Technology | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative(s) | Kara Pryor (brother) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Dan Pryor (born 14 April 1988) is a New Zealandrugby union player who currently plays as aloose forward for theMiami Sharks inMajor League Rugby (MLR).[1] He previously played for theSan Diego Legion (also in MLR),[2] forNorthland in theITM Cup,[3] for theHighlanders,Blues andSunwolves inSuper Rugby,[4][5][6] and for theMunakata Sanix Blues in the JapaneseTop League.[7]
Pryor has represented theMaori All Blacks internationally.[8]
Born and raised in Auckland, Pryor hails from a rugby family with grandfather Albie being anAuckland andMāori All Blacks representative, while brotherKara also went on to become a professional rugby union player. He attendedAuckland Grammar School in his home city and played first XV rugby while there. After graduation he began studying towards a degree in business and advertising at theAuckland University of Technology while playing his club rugby forGrammar TEC with whom he won the Gallaher Shield in 2013. He also spent time with the Auckland academy before departing the Auckland club scene in 2014 and joining Marist in the Northland club rugby competition.[9][10]
He started out his senior career playing for theNorthland Taniwha during the2010 ITM Cup and instantly made himself a regular in the side, scoring 3 tries in 8 starts during his debut season of provincial rugby. The Taniwha are traditionally one of the weakest provinces in New Zealand's senior domestic competition and have played in the Championship, the second tier, since the competition was rejigged in 2011. A career highlight for Pryor and his side was the2014 ITM Cup, where a 3rd-place finish on the Championship log ensured they would appear in the playoffs. Unfortunately his 57th minute try againstHawke's Bay in the semi-finals wasn't enough to inspire his side to victory and they eventually went down 26–21.
After the highs of the 2014 campaign came the lows of the2015 and2016 seasons. 2015 saw Northland lose all 10 of their regular season games to finish last on the log and this was also where they would finish in 2016, despite improved performances, a solitary win from 10 games was all they could show for their efforts. Pryor featured 7 times and contributed 1 try in 2015, however injury restricted him to just two appearances in 2016.[7]
An injury crisis among theBlues loose forwards during the2012 Super Rugby season saw him get his first experience of rugby at that level making his debut in a 34–23 defeat away to theRebels on 5 April 2012, however that was to be his only Blues appearance and he wasn't named in their squad for either the2013 or2014 seasons.[11]
Following some impressive displays as one of the senior members of a young and inexperienced Northland Taniwha side during the 2014 New Zealand domestic season, he was named in theDunedin-basedHighlanders squad ahead of the2015 Super Rugby season.[12] His first season with the 'Landers turned out to be a dream with the franchise going on to win the Super Rugby title for the first time in their history after a 21–14 victory over theHurricanes in the final. Pryor played 17 times out of a possible 19 and contributed 3 tries, however an elbow injury ruled him out of the semi-final and final.[13] He played a further 16 times the following year, however, owing to strong competition among loose forwards such asShane Christie,Luke Whitelock,Elliot Dixon andLiam Squire, he was only able to start 5 matches as the Highlanders were unable to retain their Super Rugby crown, losing out to theLions in the semi-finals.[7]
Tony Brown replaced theJapan-boundJamie Joseph as the Highlanders head coach ahead of the2017 Super Rugby season and he opted to retain Pryor in the squad for his first season in charge.[5]
Pryor was named in theMāori All Blacks squad ahead of the2014 end-of-year rugby union internationals and debuted in a 61–21 win over Japan inKobe, coming on to the field as a 49th minute replacement for future Highlanders teammate Elliot Dixon. The following week the same two sides would meet, this time inTokyo. Pryor started the match in the number 6 jersey and was to score the decisive try in the final minute of the match to secure a dramatic 20–18 win for his side.[14]
Highlanders
| Season | Team | Games | Starts | Sub | Mins | Tries | Cons | Pens | Drops | Points | Yel | Red |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Blues | 1 | 1 | 0 | 80 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | Highlanders | 17 | 7 | 10 | 752 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | Highlanders | 16 | 5 | 11 | 674 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 34 | 13 | 21 | 1506 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 0 | |