Kara A. Pryor (born 2 April 1991) 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 who currently plays as a loose forward for

Rugby United New York Rugby New York, formerly known as Rugby United New York and now officially nicknamed the Ironworkers, are a professional rugby union team based in New York City that is a member of Major League Rugby (MLR). The team played an exhibition season in ...

(RUNY) of

Major League Rugby Major League Rugby (MLR or USMLR) is a professional rugby union competition and the top-level championship for clubs in North America. In the 2022 season it was contested by thirteen teams: twelve from the United States and one from Canada. Off ...

(MLR).

Senior career

Pryor started out his

National Provincial Championship The National Provincial Championship may refer to: * National Provincial Championship (1976–2005), original competition before reform into 14 sides * National Provincial Championship (2006–present) The National Provincial Championship, o ...

career with and played 5 times for them before heading north to play alongside older brother

Dan Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoi ...

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 international

Jack Ram Jack Ram (born 14 January 1987) is a Tongan professional rugby union footballer. He plays for New England Free Jacks of Major League Rugby (MLR). He represented the Tonga sevens team and Tonga national rugby teams between 2009 and 2015. Ear ...

. Pryor's first season with Northland was a successful one for the Taniwha who are traditionally known as one of New Zealand's weaker provinces. They finished 3rd on the Championship table 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 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, 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 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

saw a rise 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.

Super Rugby

Fine form domestically for Auckland and later Northland brought Pryor to the attention of local Super Rugby franchise, the Blues. He played 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 The 2016 Super Rugby season was the 21st season of Super Rugby and the first season featuring an expanded 18-team format. It was also the first season that teams outside Australia, New Zealand and South Africa featured, with the Jaguares from Ar ...

. On a personal note, his first season of Super Rugby went well as he featured in 13 of the Blues 15 games and scored 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 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 ...

;

Jerome Kaino Jerome Kaino (born 6 April 1983) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. In 2004, he was named IRB International Under-21 player of the year. In 2011, he was named the New Zealand Rugby player of the year, finishing ahead of Richie McCaw ...

and

Steve Luatua Steve Luatua (born 29 April 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union player. His regular playing position is either as a lock or a loose forward. He plays for the Bristol Bears in the English Premiership. Luatua was a member of the New Zealand und ...

International

In October 2016 Pryor, who affiliates to the

Ngāti Awa Ngāti Awa is a Māori iwi (tribe) centred in the eastern Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand. It is made of 22 hapū (subtribes), with 15,258 people claiming affiliation to the iwi in 2006. The Ngāti Awa people are primarily located in towns ...

Ngāti Pikiao Ngāti Pikiao is a Māori iwi of New Zealand. Te Arawa FM is the radio station of Te Arawa iwi, including Ngāti Pikiao, Tūhourangi and Ngāti Whakaue. It was established in the early 1980s and became a charitable entity in November 1990. The s ...

, and

Ngāti Rangitihi Ngāti Rangitihi is a Māori iwi of New Zealand, located in the Bay of Plenty. The tribe is part of the greater Te Arawa confederation of tribes. Nga pumanawa e waru o Te Arawa, the 8 beating hearts of Te Arawa derives from the 8 children of the ...

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

, was named in the

Māori All Blacks The Māori All Blacks, previously called the New Zealand Maori, New Zealand Maoris and New Zealand Natives, are a rugby union team from New Zealand. They are a representative team of the New Zealand Rugby Union, and a prerequisite for playing i ...

squad for their end of year tour to the Northern Hemisphere. He debuted in the number 7 jersey in their 54-7 victory over the on 4 November 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pryor, Kara 1991 births Living people New Zealand rugby union players Rugby union flankers Northland rugby union players Auckland rugby union players Blues (Super Rugby) players Ngāti Awa people Ngāti Pikiao people Ngāti Rangitihi people Māori All Blacks players Sunwolves players Rugby New York players