Bronson Murray (born 6 November 1982) is a New Zealand

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 its m ...

player. A

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

, Murray last played provincial rugby for Bay of Plenty and notably Northland in the National Provincial Championship.

Playing career

Provincial Rugby

A former New Zealand Under 21 international, Murray broke into the Northland provincial side in 2002 and has remained a fixture there for nearly a decade. Originally a loosehead prop, he converted to tighthead in 2007 and can play on either side of the scrum. Murray signed with

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

as part of his

Super 14 Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

move to the Crusaders in 2009, but the transaction was essentially on paper only as he was immediately loaned back to Northland. At the conclusion of the

2010 ITM Cup The 2010 ITM Cup season was the fifth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on July 29, when Taranaki hosted Northland. It involved the top fourteen rugby unio ...

, Murray sat only 4 caps away from 100 for Northland, but the province's financial problems saw him leave to sign with Bay of Plenty for the

2011 ITM Cup The 2011 ITM Cup season was the sixth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on July 14, when Otago hosted North Harbour. It involved the top fourteen rugby uni ...

. He was not included in the ITM Cup for 2015.

Super Rugby

Murray was included in the

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

squad for the

2008 Super 14 season The 2008 Super 14 season started in February 2008 with pre-season matches held from mid-January. It finished on 31 May, when the Crusaders won their seventh Super Rugby title with a 20–12 victory over the Waratahs in front of the Crusaders' ...

, but found opportunities difficult to come by behind

All Black The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

props Tony Woodcock and

John Afoa Ioane Fitu "John" Afoa (born 16 September 1983) is a New Zealand professional rugby union player. His position of choice is at prop. Afoa currently plays for Crusaders in Super Rugby. Personal life Afoa was a student at Auckland's Papakura High ...

, appearing in only 1 contest for a total of 4 minutes. For the

2009 Super 14 season The 2009 Super 14 season kicked off in February 2009 with pre-season matches held from mid-January. It finished on 30 May, when the Bulls won their second Super Rugby title with a decisive 61–17 victory over the Chiefs at Loftus Versfeld sta ...

, Murray signed with the Crusaders. After starting the season as a bench player, he received a run of 5 starts in the squad after

Ben Franks Ben John Franks (born 27 March 1984) is an Australian-born New Zealand rugby union coach and former player. He played as a prop. He is one of only 21 players who have won the Rugby World Cup on multiple occasions. Ben Franks along with young ...

was ruled out through injury. Murray was on the move again in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

after being claimed in the draft by the Highlanders. He saw little game action in the first half of the season, but injuries to starting props

Jamie Mackintosh Jamie Mackintosh (born 20 February 1985) is a New Zealand professional rugby union player currently playing for the Austin Gilgronis in Major League Rugby (MLR). He previously played for Section Paloise in the French Top 14 competition. He wa ...

and

Clint Newland Clint Newland is a New Zealand rugby union player. Career New Zealand Newland was born in Dannevirke and attended New Plymouth Boys' High School as a boarder. In 1999, he made his provincial debut for Hawke's Bay against Poverty Bay in the NP ...

saw him see a more prominent role as the season went along, and he started the final 2 games of the year. He scored his first Super Rugby try in the dying seconds of a 33–31 loss to the Hurricanes on 24 April.

International Rugby

Murray was selected to represent the New Zealand Māori team in the

2008 Pacific Nations Cup The 2008 Pacific Nations Cup was a rugby union tournament held between six national sides on the Pacific Rim: Australia A, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Tonga and New Zealand Māori (just for this year). The inaugural competition was held in 2006. This ...

and again for the 2010 Centenary Series, where he featured in historic wins over

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Personal

An avid outdoorsman, Murray grew up on a large Northland farm and enjoys hunting, fishing, and diving in his spare time.

References

External links

Highlanders ProfileNorthland Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Bronson 1982 births Living people New Zealand rugby union players Northland rugby union players Bay of Plenty rugby union players Blues (Super Rugby) players Crusaders (rugby union) players Highlanders (rugby union) players Māori All Blacks players Rugby union props People from Kaitaia Rugby union players from the Northland Region