He is Highlander No300.
So 298 players have passed through the Highlanders doors between father and son in the Garden-Bachop family.
Former All Black Steve Bachop was in the first Highlanders team in 1996.
In fact, he scored two tries for the Highlanders in their first game — a 50-point win over the Reds.
Now a generation later, Connor Garden-Bachop, is making an impact for the same team.
He had a lively game against the Crusaders last Friday, icing the win with a try in the final 10 minutes to seal a record margin of victory, 33-12 over the Crusaders in Christchurch.
Garden-Bachop (21) said it was a great game to be part of and one he would always remember.
"Thrilled is probably an understatement. It was the game of my life, really. In all aspects — playing the best team, and we put on our best performance of the season," he said.
"It is important against a team like the Crusaders you can never give them the sniff. Can’t take your foot off the throat or the throttle.
"We got real tight [near the end] and got around each other and said ‘let’s enjoy this next 10 minutes and make the most of it’."
Garden-Bachop got to display his speed and strength throughout the match and enjoyed playing at the back.
"Playing 15 is a new challenge and it is an exciting position. You are a bit more open to both sides of the field which I like."
Garden-Bachop has asked coach Tony Brown how much licence he would be given on the field and Brown told him he had plenty of free licence.
"One thing I like the most about playing for this team and for Tony is the confidence he gives me.
"I was so stoked at the end. Put the nail in the coffin to everything that had happened in the lead-up to the game."
It may be all smiles these days but it has been a long time coming for Garden-Bachop. He had back surgery in Christmas in 2019 for a bulged disc and when he got back on the field he almost immediately dislocated his elbow putting him out of Wellington’s season in the Mitre 10 Cup.
His provincial future is up in the air but he is signed up with the Highlanders until next year.
He said he was was really enjoying being with the Highlanders and could not see himself playing for another team.
Garden-Bachop said his father did not put any pressure on him to perform and simply sent encouraging texts before each game.
His mother, Sue Garden, was an outstanding player and a pioneer for women’s rugby in New Zealand. She played rugby for Otago and also played for the Black Ferns. She died of cancer when Connor was 9.
His older brother, Jackson Garden-Bachop, played for the Hurricanes since last year but is gone for this season because of an Achilles injury.
