Sam Prattley

Samuel Murray John Prattley (born 16 January 1990) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a prop for Auckland in the ITM Cup.[1][2][3][4]

Sam Prattley
Full nameSamuel Murray John Prattley
Date of birth (1990-01-16) 16 January 1990
Place of birthBlenheim, New Zealand
Height1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Weight113 kg (17 st 11 lb; 249 lb)
SchoolNelson College
Rugby union career
Position(s) Prop
Current team Auckland
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2010–2012 Tasman 29 (0)
2013–2017 Blues 39 (5)
2013– Auckland 53 (5)
2018 Chiefs 10 (0)
Correct as of 19 November 2018
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2010 New Zealand U20 3 (5)
Correct as of 19 October 2014

Early career

Born in Blenheim, and raised in the rural town of Rai Valley, Prattley played rugby from an early age and followed in the footsteps of his father and uncle in representing the Pelorus Rugby club. He moved to nearby Nelson to attend high school at Nelson College and played first XV rugby during his time there.[3][5]

Senior career

After graduating high school, Prattley made his way through club rugby and then made his national provincial championship bow in 2010 with the Nelson-based Tasman Makos for whom he would go on to make 29 appearances for in 3 seasons. He headed north to join Auckland ahead of the 2013 ITM Cup and quickly established himself as a regular in the number 1 jersey. He made 9 appearances, 6 of which were from the start in his first season in New Zealand's largest city before starting all 11 of Auckland's games during the 2014 ITM Cup which saw them reach the Premiership semi-finals before losing to Taranaki after extra-time.

2015 saw him play an additional 9 games for Auckland as they reached the Premiership final before losing narrowly to Canterbury while 2016 was a year of disappointment both for him and his side. Auckland missed out on the Premiership play-offs altogether with a 5th place finish on the log standings and injury limited Prattley to just 5 starts during the season.[2]

Super Rugby

During his time with Tasman, Prattley was involved in the Crusaders and Highlanders wider training groups but did not make any Super Rugby appearances. His move north to Auckland opened up new doors for him and injuries in the Blues front-row saw him brought in as emergency cover during the 2013 Super Rugby season.[1][6] He went on to represent the Blues 4 times that year and was upgraded to a full contract for the following season. He turned out 10 times in 2014 and 9 times in 2015 with the majority of his appearances coming from the substitutes bench.

2016 saw Tana Umaga replace Sir John Kirwan as Blues head coach and this change saw Prattley become a more regular starter, playing 10 times during the season with 9 of these appearances coming from the start.[2] Despite his injury problems during New Zealand's 2016 domestic season, Prattley maintained his place in the Blues squad for 2017.[3]

International

Prattley was a member of the New Zealand Under-20 side which won the 2010 IRB Junior World Championship. He scored 1 try in the 3 appearances as the tournament which was held in Argentina.[7][8][9][10]

Career Honours

New Zealand Under-20

Super Rugby Statistics
As of 26 November 2016[2]
SeasonTeamGamesStartsSubMinsTriesConsPensDropsPointsYelRed
2013Blues4222190000000
2014Blues10282360000000
2015Blues9362190000000
2016Blues10915861000500
Total33161712601000500

References
  1. "Sam Prattley Auckland Player Profile". Auckland Rugby. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  2. "Sam Prattley itsrugby.co.uk Player Statistics". itsrugby.co.uk. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  3. "Blues 2017 Squad Guide" (PDF). All Blacks.com. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  4. "Sam Prattley Blues Player Profile". Blues Rugby. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  5. "Spotlight:Sam Prattley". Blues Rugby. 13 September 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  6. "Sam Prattley called in to replace Charlie Faumuina" (Press release). Blues. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  7. "Champions New Zealand name JWC 2010 squad". IRB.com. 28 April 2010. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  8. "Q&A with Sam Prattley". Auckland Rugby. 14 October 2013. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  9. "Sam Prattley ESPN Scrum Player Profile". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  10. "Sam Prattley New Zealand U20 Player Profile". All Blacks.com. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.