George Bridge will be familiar to any rugby fan in New Zealand after his stellar performance for the Crusaders in 2018 in which he scored 15 tries and his subsequent selection for the All Blacks, scoring two tries on debut against Japan.  

Since then George has gone on to become a regular on the wing for the All Blacks and in spite of disappointments like the 2019 Rugby World Cup and the COVID-struck season of 2020, George continues to show what a good player he is. 

As a schoolboy playing for the Lindisfarne 1st XV, George dreamed of being a professional rugby player but never thought that it was a goal that was within reach. George recalls: “After school, I thought the rugby dream was over. Going through school, I was a bit of a battler. I didn’t make any rep teams in Hawke’s Bay or anything.” He was preparing to head off to Otago university to study sports science when a conversation with the coach of the Lindisfarne team, Campbell Feather, on the last day of school, changed all that. George recalls the occasion: “Campbell said, “How do you think your footy is going to go down there (In Dunedin)?” And that was when he asked if I would like to go to Christchurch and work for a year and give club footy a crack.” Campbell had been contacted by Nathan Mauger, the development officer for HSOB and it was for them that George played in his first year in Christchurch. 

Taking a chance on a rugby career in a city still devastated by the earthquake was a big ask for a 17-year-old:  “I started off as a furniture mover at Allied Pickfords and then I was building foundations as part of the Christchurch rebuild for a while. Even to move down there when I was 17 years old was a bit of a risk. In the big wide world, I didn’t have too much.” The risk paid off, however, when George was selected for the Canterbury Under 19’s, The New Zealand Under 20’s and the Canterbury teams. He made a very impressive debut for the Crusaders in 2017, scoring 12 tries in 18 appearances and won the Super Rugby Rookie of the Year award. George went on to be selected for the Baabaas and then the All Blacks in 2018 and has earned a regular place on the wing since then. He also made a crucial contribution to the victories of the seemingly invincible Crusaders in the 2019 and 2020 seasons. 

Although it took him a few years to realise it, George considers that his experiences at Lindisfarne have contributed to his success on the rugby field and taught him respect, courage and integrity.  The friends he made and the traditions of Lindisfarne helped to turn him into the man he is today and gave him the necessary resilience to cope with the setbacks in his career. Coping with these set-backs, particularly the defeat of the All Blacks in Japan in 2019, encouraged George to add his voice to rugby players who have shared their experiences in a mental health campaign encouraging men to reach out when they are going through difficulties. 

"An old school mate of mine, Hugh Renton, has been driving a lot of the awareness and talk around the mental health of farmers. Hopefully this new Super Rugby Aotearoa competition can allow those farmers to go catch up with their mates and have a beer at the pub or whatever, as you can get pretty bloody isolated out on the farm and it can get pretty lonely. So just little things like that, getting around people you care about and who care about you, can make a big difference." 

George is still in touch with many of the friends from his school days and catches up with them on a regular basis He remembers the boarding experience particularly fondly: “There was never a dull moment in the boarding house. Some of my best memories of Lindisfarne are being a senior in the boarding house. I was also involved with many sports through my time at Lindisfarne and I enjoyed them all because I loved getting out and being active with my mates.” 

To the current students of Lindisfarne, George would like to say: “You may be uncertain about what you want to do but whatever you choose, make sure you enjoy it and give it your best.”