Leon Pryce (born 9 October 1981) is an English

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

coach and footballer who played as a and in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. A Great Britain and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

international back, he previously played for St Helens, with whom he had

Challenge Cup The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...

, and Super League Championship success, the

Catalans Dragons The Catalans Dragons (French language, French: ''Dragons Catalans'', Catalan language, Catalan: ''Dracs Catalans'') are a professional rugby league club from Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales department, France. Despite being based in France the ...

Hull FC Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Hull play their home games at the MKM Stadium and compete in Super League, the t ...

and the

Bradford Bulls The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, and compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. The club have won the League Championship six times, the Challenge Cup f ...

. He is a product of the Bradford Bulls Academy system.

Early and personal life

Pryce was born on 9 October 1981, in

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

, to Jamaican parents. He is the older brother of

player Karl Pryce. His son,

Will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

, is also a rugby player. His cousin, Steve Pryce, has coached in Jamaica, and he is also the cousin of

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Post Office Road and currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. Featherstone ...

player

Waine Pryce Waine Pryce (born ) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played as a er and also as a in the 2000s and 2010s. He played at international level for England 'A' and Jamaica, and at club level for the Castleford Tigers, Wakefiel ...

Playing career

Bradford Bulls

At age 16, Pryce captained the

schools side. Pryce came through the academy ranks at

, after the club signed him from amateur side Queensbury in Bradford. Pryce played for Bradford on the wing in the

1999 Super League Grand Final The 1999 Super League Grand Final was the Second official Grand Final conclusive and championship-deciding game of the Super League IV season. The match was played between St. Helens and Bradford Bulls on Saturday 9 October 1999, at Old Traffor ...

which was lost to St. Helens. He made his full début for

against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 1999, and has also represented his home county of

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

. Pryce played for Bradford on the wing in their

2001 Super League Grand Final The 2001 Super League Grand Final was the Fourth official Grand Final and the conclusive and championship-deciding match of Super League VI. The match was held on Saturday 13 October 2001 at Old Trafford, Manchester, and was contested by Bradfor ...

victory against the

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

. As

Super League VI Tetley's Super League VI was the official name for the year 2001's Super League championship season, the 107th season of top-level professional rugby league football in Britain, and the sixth championship run by the Super League. The season began ...

champions, Bradford played against 2001 NRL Premiers, the

Newcastle Knights The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league team based in Newcastle, New South Wales that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, the Knights joined the top-tier competition in New ...

in the

2002 World Club Challenge The 2002 World Club Challenge was held on Friday, 1 February 2002, at the Alfred McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield, England. The game was contested by Bradford Bulls and Newcastle Knights. Background Bradford Bulls The 2001 Super League Grand Fin ...

. Pryce was selected for the substitutes bench in Bradford's victory. Later that year Pryce played for Bradford from the substitutes bench in their

2002 Super League Grand Final The 2002 Super League Grand Final was the Fifth official Grand Final and conclusive and championship-deciding game of Super League VII. Held on Saturday 19 October 2002 at Old Trafford, Manchester, the game was played between St. Helens and Brad ...

loss against St. Helens. In 2003, Pryce received 120 hours community service for unlawful wounding, after attacking former Bulls' fitness conditioner Eddie McGuinness with a glass. He played for Bradford from the substitutes bench in their

2003 Super League Grand Final The 2003 Super League Grand Final was the 6th official Grand Final conclusive and premiership-deciding match of Super League VIII. Held on Saturday 18 October 2003 at Old Trafford, Manchester, the game was played between Bradford Bulls and Wigan ...

victory against the

. Having won

Super League VIII Tetley's Super League VIII was the official name for the year 2003's Super League championship season, the 109th season of top-level professional rugby league held in Britain, and the eighth championship run by Super League. The season culminat ...

, Bradford played against 2003 NRL Premiers,

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Greater Western Sydney suburb of Penrith, New South Wales, Penrith that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The team is based west of the cen ...

in the

2004 World Club Challenge The 2004 World Club Challenge was held on Friday, 13 February 2004, at the Alfred McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield, England. The game was contested by Bradford Bulls and the Penrith Panthers. Background Bradford Bulls Penrith Panthers Matc ...

. Pryce played at stand-off half back and scored a try in Bradford's 22–4 victory. He played for Bradford on the wing and scored a try in their

2005 Super League Grand Final The 2005 Super League Grand Final was the 8th official Grand Final and the conclusive and championship-deciding match of the Super League X season. Held on Saturday 15 October 2005, at Old Trafford, Manchester, the game was played between Bradfo ...

victory against

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, winning the Harry Sunderland Award for a

Man of the Match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

performance.

St Helens

After Bradford did not renew his contract in 2005, in 2006 Pryce joined St. Helens. One of the key issues in the decision was that he would start at stand off, a position Pryce has long coveted. Pryce won his first trophy with St Helens in August 2006, defeating

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

in the

Challenge Cup Final The Challenge Cup of rugby league was instituted in the 1896–97 and the final was contested between Batley and St. Helens at Headingley, Leeds. In the seasons during the Second World War the final was played over two legs, with the aggregate s ...

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

. St Helens reached the 2006 Super League Grand final to be contested against

, and Pryce played at stand-off half back, scoring a try in Saints' 26–4 victory. As 2006 Super League champions, St Helens faced 2006 NRL Premiers

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Red Hill, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos compete in the National Rugby League (NRL) and play their home games at ...

in the

2007 World Club Challenge The 2007 Carnegie World Club Challenge was played between Super League XI champions, St. Helens and 2006 National Rugby League premiers, the Brisbane Broncos. It was a replay of the 2001 World Club Challenge, and both clubs' fifth WCC appear ...

. Pryce played at stand-off half back in the Saints' 18–14 victory. He went on to win the Challenge Cup again in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

when Saints beat

30–8 at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

. He was a joint winner of the

Lance Todd Trophy The Lance Todd Trophy is a trophy in rugby league, awarded to man of the match in the annual Challenge Cup Final. Introduced in 1945–46, the trophy was named in memory of Lance Todd, the New Zealand-born player and administrator, who was kill ...

along with

Paul Wellens Paul Simon Wellens (born 27 February 1980) is an English professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of St Helens RFC, St Helens in the Super League and a former professional rugby league footballer. A Great Britain national rugby l ...

. In July 2007, Pryce was accused of squeezing

Sam Burgess Samuel Burgess (born 14 December 1988) is an English professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of the Warrington Wolves in the Super League, and former professional rugby league footballer who played as a or forward in the 2000s a ...

testicles A testicle or testis ( testes) is the gonad in all male bilaterians, including humans, and is homologous to the ovary in females. Its primary functions are the production of sperm and the secretion of androgens, primarily testosterone. The ...

. He was later found guilty of the incident and banned for three matches. That year he was voted rugby league's dirtiest player by ''RL Weekly'' readers. Leon Pryce

He was again found guilty of a similar misconduct, against Bradford forward Andy Lynch on 22 February 2008. However, he escaped a possible eight-match ban as the disciplinary panel ruled the contact "minimal". His success at the club continued as he helped Saints to a 26–18 win over Hull in the 2008 Challenge Cup Final. He was named in the England squad for the

2008 Rugby League World Cup The 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth World Cup for men’s rugby league national teams. It was held between 26 October and 22 November and was won by New Zealand, who defeated Australia 34–20 in the final in one of the greatest ...

. He was named in the

Super League Dream Team The Super League Dream Team is an annually-selected rugby league All Star Team consisting of the players deemed to have been the best in their respective positions in the Super League competition. The team is selected by a panel of journalists and ...

for the 2008's

Super League XIII Engage Super League XIII was the official name, due to sponsorship, for the 2008 Super League season by Engage Mutual. Twelve teams competed for the League Leader's Shield over 27 rounds (including Magic Weekend, Millennium Magic), after which th ...

season. He played in 2008's Super League XIII Grand Final defeat by Leeds. Pryce went with the England squad to compete in the

tournament in Australia. In

Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived touring cars for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles wer ...

's first match against

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

he played at stand-off half back in England's victory. In 2008 Pryce was charged and appeared in court alongside

Stuart Reardon Stuart Reardon (born October, 13 1981) is an English fitness model and former professional rugby league footballer who most recently played for the North Wales Crusaders. He played as a , or . Playing career Reardon turned professional from ...

on charges of assault and violence following an alleged incident at Reardon's estranged wife's house in Queensbury, Bradford. They were charged with using violence to gain entry and common assault. The charge of using violence to gain entry against both defendants was dropped after the prosecution offered no evidence. In March 2009, having been found guilty of common assault, the pair were given a 12-week suspended sentence. He played in the 2009 Super League Grand Final defeat by the

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club play their home games at Headingley Rugby Stadium, AMT Headingley Rugby Stadium and compete in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby lea ...

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

Catalans Dragons

After being released by St Helens in 2011, Pryce signed for the

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ; ) is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales departments of France, department in Southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the Me ...

based

for the 2012 season. The Stand-off made his début against

Castleford Tigers The Castleford Tigers are a professional rugby league club in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England. They play their home games at Wheldon Road (currently known as the Mend-A-Hose Jungle for sponsorship reasons) and compete in the Super League, t ...

in a 28–20 victory and was named Man of the Match. He went on to play 80 times for the French side and scored a total of 20 tries in the three seasons he spent at the club.

Hull FC

Pryce signed for Hull in 2015. In 2016 he was part of the team that won the Challenge Cup at Wembley for the first time. At the end of the 2016 season, Pryce announced his departure from Hull after two seasons and 38 appearances.

Bradford Bulls

Pryce re-signed for his hometown club Bradford ahead of the 2017 season, however the Bulls were liquidated in January 2017, casting doubt over Pryce's playing future. A new club was formed, soon after the old club was liquidated, and which Pryce signed for. The new club was kept in the Championship, but started on −12 points. After just 11 games Pryce announced his immediate retirement after a poor start to the season.

Post-playing career

After Pryce retired he set up his own player agency. His son Will Pryce plays for the

in the NRL

Coaching career

After retiring during the 2017 season, Leon accepted an offer to coach League 1 side

Workington Town Workington Town is a semi-professional rugby league club based in Workington, West Cumbria, England. The club plays home games at Derwent Park and competes in the RFL League One, League One, the third tier of British rugby league system, Briti ...

for the 2018 season.

Honours

Club

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

(4):

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

World Club Challenge The World Club Challenge is an annual rugby league competition between the winners of the Australian National Rugby League and the British Super League, for the de facto club world championship of the sport. Super League sides have won the c ...

(3):

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

League Leader's Shield The League Leaders' Shield is a trophy awarded to the team finishing the season top of Super League in the sport of rugby league football. This regular portion of the season precedes the playoffs for the eventual Super League Grand Final. The t ...

(6):

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

(6):

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

References

External links

*(archived by web.archive.org
Bradford Bulls profile
*(archived by web.archive.org
St Helens profileProfile at saints.org.uk
*(archived by web.archive.org
2001 Ashes profilePlayers to watch – Leon Pryce (England)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pryce, Leon 1981 births Living people 21st-century English sportsmen Black British sportsmen 21st-century Black British people Bradford Bulls captains Bradford Bulls players Catalans Dragons players England national rugby league team players English people of Jamaican descent English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Hull F.C. players Lance Todd Trophy winners

Leon Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

Rugby league centres Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from Bradford Rugby league wingers Sportspeople of Jamaican descent St Helens R.F.C. players Workington Town coaches Yorkshire rugby league team players