Black History Month Bio - Leon Pryce

Leon Pryce (Bradford, St Helens, Catalans, Hull FC, England & Great Britain)

Leon Pryce was born to play rugby league. Hailing from a family rooted in rugby league, he captained England schoolboys aged 16 and signed for Bradford Bulls shortly after from local powerhouse Queensbury.

He played his first game for the Bulls in 1999 aged 17, appeared on the wing in that year’s Super League Grand Final on his 18th birthday, and then made his debut for England against France just a few days later, the first of seven England and 17 GB caps.

Supremely talented, Leon became a key member of an all-conquering awesome Bradford squad. He played in both of the Bulls’ 2002 and 2004 World Club Challenge victories, as well as their 2003 and 2005 Grand Final triumphs. The latter victory won him the Harry Sunderland Trophy.

He crossed the Pennines to St Helens in 2006. In his first year he won a grand slam of medals for the Challenge Cup, Super League and World Club Challenge. In 2007 he was joint-winner of the Lance Todd Trophy as St Helens won the first Challenge Cup final at the new Wembley.

In 2011, he moved to France to the Catalans Dragons, the biggest English signing they had made. After four years in France, he moved to Hull, and eventually ended his career where it all began, back at his home town team the Bulls. It was Leon’s statement about what the game meant to him, but it also symbolised how much he had given to rugby league.

Betfred Super League's month-long campaign will peak at Round 17 (fixtures played on 22 & 23 October), which will be re-named Black History Round. The fixtures in Round 17 will see Hull FC travel to Perpignan to face Catalans Dragons as well as Wigan Warriors v Salford Red Devils, Castleford Tigers v Hull KR, Huddersfield Giants v Wakefield Trinity and St Helens v Leeds Rhinos.