Western
\nForce back-rower Reed Prinsep will call time on his professional rugby career
\nfollowing Sunday\u2019s Super Rugby AUS Grand Final, wrapping up an 11-year career
\nthat included almost 100 Super Rugby caps and representing the Maori All
\nBlacks.<\/p>\n
The 32-year-old will later this year head to Oxford University to study an Executive Masters of Business Administration as his he and his young family, wife Mel and their two children Cartia and Heidi, move on to the next chapter of their lives.<\/p>\n
Prinsep, 32, made 99 Super Rugby appearances with three clubs, the Crusaders (2015-2016), the Hurricanes (2017-2023) and the Force (2024-2025). He also earned 10 caps for the M\u0101ori All Blacks from 2016 to 2022.<\/p>\n
The back-rower broke into professional rugby at Canterbury in late 2014 and was part of the side that won three straight NPC titles from 2015 to 2017.<\/p>\n
After a
\nplaying career in his native New Zealand, he was lured to the Force in early
\n2024 by head coach Simon Cron, notching up 25 Super Rugby appearances. He
\nfinished fifth in the 2024 Nathan Sharpe medal count after an impressive debut
\nseason in Perth.<\/p>\n
Prinsep
\nexplained the decision, revealing from his teenage years he always wanted to
\nstudy at Oxford University, and reflecting on his journey as a player.<\/p>\n
He said:
\n\u201cThe decision to study at Oxford has been on my mind since I left high school,
\nso it\u2019s always been the masterplan to transition out of rugby. When the offer
\ncame through, I felt it was the best time to take it up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel
\nlike I got everything out of myself and my body. I\u2019d rather finish a year
\nearly, than a year late so the timing felt right. Rugby has opened up many
\ndoors for life beyond my playing days, and my family and I are excited about
\nthe next chapter.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe
\njourney has been special. You get told by senior players that your career goes
\nby in a flash and that\u2019s certainly true. It feels like yesterday I made my
\ndebut at Canterbury.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never
\ncame through an Academy system, so I\u2019ve always played for the love of the game
\nand made the most of every opportunity. I started out at Canterbury in the
\nmidst of a dynasty winning three titles in a row. That was a special time with
\na special team. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been
\nblessed to have opportunities in Super Rugby at the Crusaders, Hurricanes and
\nForce and met some great people along the way. There\u2019s lots of highlights
\nincluding debut games and milestone games, but it\u2019s always been about the
\npeople.\u201d<\/p>\n
Across his 11-year career, Prinsep also played 73 Super Rugby games for the Hurricanes, as well as 83 NPC caps for Canterbury, including the three titles.<\/p>\n
Prinsep
\noffered gratitude to his wife Mel and family, along with coaches along the way.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe
\nbiggest thank you goes to my wife Mel, who has been beside me every step of my
\ncareer,\u201d he said. \u201cThe support she\u2019s provided has been unbelievable and enabled
\nme to have this career, with all the travel and now everything that comes with
\nhaving two children.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been
\nsuch a proud moment having my two daughters coming watch my games, particularly
\nat the Force and seeing them on the field after the games. It\u2019s something I\u2019ve
\nreally enjoyed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m
\ngrateful to my mum Andrea and dad Grant for their support from day dot,
\ndropping me off at training or games when I was a junior and being at every
\ngame growing up. My love of the game began through them. When I was young, I
\nrecall my dad telling me \u2018you\u2019ll enjoy the game more if you\u2019re fitter\u2019 and he
\nwas right. It\u2019s the little things like that.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy brother
\nBlair was a great rugby player in his own right and it was amazing to have him
\nto train and play alongside growing up. He pushed me to get better.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been
\nfortunate to work with plenty of great coaches along the way and it was Razor
\nwho gave me my first opportunity at Canterbury. Jason Holland was there at my
\nfirst day at Canterbury and throughout my entire journey at the Hurricanes too.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m hugely
\ngrateful to the Force and Crono for giving me an opportunity two years ago. I
\nwas at a tough spot after missing the 2023 season with Achilles injury, but I
\nfeel like I played some of my best Super Rugby at the Force. That was due to
\ngood people around me and a good support network, pushing me to be my best.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been
\nspecial to be part of the Force team for the past two years and the fans have
\nbeen unreal. I\u2019ve been at teams in New Zealand where rugby is the number one,
\nso there\u2019s something special about the Sea of Blue\u2019s commitment through thick
\nand thin at the Force. <\/p>\n
\u201cFor how I\u2019d
\nlike to be remembered, I hope I\u2019ve earned the respect of teammates along the
\nway, with my work ethic and efforts on and off the field. I\u2019ve never wanted to
\nlet people down and always aimed to get the best out of myself. <\/p>\n
\u201cI always
\nled through my actions and wanted to be a role model for the young guys coming
\nthrough to get the best out of themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cron
\npraised Prinsep for his contribution to the Force during his two years at the
\nClub where he quickly became part of the leadership group and earned the
\nnickname \u2018Concrete\u2019 for his hard carries.<\/p>\n
\u201cReed has
\nbeen a phenomenal leader of men,\u201d Cron said. \u201cHe leads by his actions. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe has an
\namazing knowledge of the game and never stops working and never lets you down. He\u2019s
\nbeen a huge asset.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wish
\nhim, his wife Mel and their two daughters Cartia and Heidi all the best in
\ntheir next adventure in England.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reed
\nPrinsep<\/p>\n
DOB:
\n17\/2\/1993<\/p>\n
Position:
\nBack-rower<\/p>\n
Super Rugby
\ndebut: 2016 with Crusaders<\/p>\n
Super Rugby
\ncaps: 97 (1 with Crusaders (2016), 73 with Hurricanes (2017-2023), 25 with
\nForce (2024-2025))<\/p>\n
Force cap:
\n253<\/p>\n
Maori All
\nBlacks caps: 10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Western Force back-rower Reed Prinsep will call time on his professional rugby career following Sunday\u2019s Super Rugby AUS…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":186218,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85,11229],"class_list":["post-186217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-western-force"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=186217"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186217\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/186218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=186217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=186217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=186217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}