Northland flanker Kara Pryor has been named to debut at openside flanker for the Māori All Blacks when they take on the USA Eagles tomorrow afternoon (NZ time).
Pryor was in impressive form all season long for both the Blues and Northland, which warranted his selection.
With a number of All Blacks being made available this week, head coach Colin Cooper has named four All Blacks in his run-on side for Friday night. All four All Blacks - Elliot Dixon, Tawera Kerr-Barlow, Rieko Ioane, and Damian McKenzie - played for the Māori All Blacks last year.
These guys are all familiar with our environment so we know that they are able to move between the All Blacks and our squad with great ease. The Māori All Blacks is another home for those guys.
"This is the most experienced squad we've had for a while, and many of the players who played for us last year have stepped up a level from there," he said.