{"id":188673,"date":"2025-10-04T01:41:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-04T01:41:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/188673\/"},"modified":"2025-10-04T01:41:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-04T01:41:07","slug":"id-rather-finish-a-year-early-than-a-year-late","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/188673\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I\u2019d rather finish a year early than a year late’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Western Force<\/a> loose forward Reed Prinsep<\/a> will swap his playing boots for study books following the Super Rugby AUS final on Sunday, the team has announced.<\/p>\n

The 10-time Maori All Black is most well-known for his time with the Hurricanes, where he played 73 games between 2017 and 2023 before moving to Perth, where he\u2019s added another 25 Super Rugby caps to his CV. The 32-year-old\u2019s debut came with the Crusaders<\/a> in 2016; it was his only appearance for the club despite his role in Canterbury\u2019s NPC three-peat in 2015, \u201916, and \u201917.<\/p>\n

Now, an Executive Master\u2019s of Business Administration awaits, and Prinsep is excited to fulfil another dream in his next chapter of life.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe decision to study at Oxford has been on my mind since I left high school, so it\u2019s always been the master plan to transition out of rugby,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen the offer came through, I felt it was the best time to take it up.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I\u2019ve got everything out of myself and my body. I\u2019d rather finish a year early than a year late, so the timing felt right. Rugby has opened up many doors for life beyond my playing days, and my family and I are excited about the next chapter.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe journey has been special. You get told by senior players that your career goes by in a flash, and that\u2019s certainly true. It feels like yesterday I made my debut at Canterbury.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never came through an Academy system, so I\u2019ve always played for the love of the game and made the most of every opportunity. I started out at Canterbury<\/a> in the midst of a dynasty, winning three titles in a row. That was a special time with a special team.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been blessed to have opportunities in Super Rugby at the Crusaders, Hurricanes<\/a> and Force and met some great people along the way. There are lots of highlights, including debut games and milestone games, but it\u2019s always been about the people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prinsep will be hoping to sign off on his rugby career with another title, and has been named in an impact role for when the Force host the Waratahs<\/a> on Sunday afternoon. He expressed his gratitude to all those who have helped him on his rugby journey, both on and off the field.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest thank you goes to my wife, Mel, who has been beside me every step of my career,\u201d he said. \u201cThe support she\u2019s provided has been unbelievable and enabled me to have this career, with all the travel and now everything that comes with having two children.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been such a proud moment having my two daughters come watch my games, particularly at the Force and seeing them on the field after the games. It\u2019s something I\u2019ve really enjoyed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m grateful to my mum, Andrea, and dad, Grant, for their support from day dot, dropping me off at training or games when I was a junior and being at every game growing up. My love of the game began through them. When I was young, I recall my dad telling me, \u2018You\u2019ll enjoy the game more if you\u2019re fitter,\u2019 and he was right. It\u2019s the little things like that.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy brother Blair was a great rugby player in his own right, and it was amazing to have him to train and play alongside growing up. He pushed me to get better.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been fortunate to work with plenty of great coaches along the way, and it was Razor who gave me my first opportunity at Canterbury. Jason Holland was there on my first day at Canterbury and throughout my entire journey at the Hurricanes, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m hugely grateful to the Force and Crono for giving me an opportunity two years ago. I was at a tough spot after missing the 2023 season with an Achilles injury, but I feel like I played some of my best Super Rugby at the Force. That was due to good people around me and a good support network, pushing me to be my best.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been special to be part of the Force team for the past two years, and the fans have been unreal. I\u2019ve been at teams in New Zealand<\/a> where rugby is the number one, so there\u2019s something special about the Sea of Blue\u2019s commitment through thick and thin at the Force.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor how I\u2019d like to be remembered, I hope I\u2019ve earned the respect of teammates along the way, with my work ethic and efforts on and off the field. I\u2019ve never wanted to let people down and always aimed to get the best out of myself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always led through my actions and wanted to be a role model for the young guys coming through to get the best out of themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Force head coach Simon Cron offered his thanks and farewell to the man known as \u2018Concrete\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cReed has been a phenomenal leader of men,\u201d Cron said. \u201cHe leads by his actions.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has an amazing knowledge of the game and never stops working and never lets you down. He\u2019s been a huge asset.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wish him, his wife Mel and their two daughters, Cartia and Heidi, all the best in their next adventure in England.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Western Force loose forward Reed Prinsep will swap his playing boots for study books following the Super Rugby…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":188674,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":["post-188673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188673","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=188673"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188673\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/188674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=188673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=188673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=188673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}