George Bridge: Why 19-Test All Black chose Force after Montpellier stint

George Bridge won four Super Rugby titles with the Crusaders and made 19 appearances for the All Blacks before leaving New Zealand for an opportunity in France, signing a three-year deal with the then-reigning Top 14 champions Montpellier.

Bridge made an immediate impact with the French powerhouse, scoring a try on debut in a tense five-point defeat to Clermont on December 4, 2022. The winger would go on to play more than 45 matches for the club, while experiencing a different way of life.

Montpellier is known for its stunning architecture, and the city is located close to the Mediterranean Coast. There’s also a lot for sports fans to see and experience, with top-flight teams in handball and volleyball, as well as a famous football club that was founded in the 1970s.

When Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and the rest of a star-studded Paris Saint-Germain squad visited Montpellier for a Ligue 1 fixture, Bridge was there watching on from the stands, later describing the occasion as a “once in a lifetime opportunity.”

It was this love of travel and exploring other parts of the world that led Bridge back to Super Rugby, inking a two-year deal with the Western Force. Bridge suited up in two pre-season trials and has been named at outside centre for the Force’s round-one clash with the ACT Brumbies.

“There was not too much desire. I had options to go back to New Zealand but my partner and I weren’t really ready to move back home yet, and we’re keen to explore something new and the opportunity came up with the Force,” Bridge told RugbyPass.

“It was a nice thought to be a little bit closer to home than France but still not quite home yet. We don’t have kids or anything, so we’re still at that stage where we’re happy exploring the world and going to new places.

“Working with (Force coach Simon Cron) and a few of the other Kiwis and coaches that are here was a big part of it as well. I strongly believe that the squad that we’ve got now is really promising, and we’ve got a good core of Wallabies players and done some good recruiting as well.

“Very optimistic around the season ahead. It’s exciting times.”

Sir Steve Hansen picked Bridge in the run-on side for four All Blacks matches at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, including the quarter-final win over Joe Schmidt’s Ireland and the semi-final loss to Eddie Jones’ England.

Bridge wore the famous black jersey in another nine Test matches before saying au revoir to New Zealand after agreeing to join Montpellier. Les Cistes had won the Top 14 the previous season with a 29-10 win over Castres on June 24, 2022, at Stade de France.

“I wouldn’t say it was hard. Obviously, had a great time with the Crusaders,” Bridge said.

“We went through that COVID period of playing against just the Kiwi teams and then we lost the South Africans… I was certainly at that stage in my career where I was looking for something new or some sort of change.

“Montpellier approached me, they’d just won the Top 14 so it just seemed like the right thing to be doing at the time. I don’t regret it, it was a great experience for me to go over and experience a different way of life and a different style of rugby and see a bit of the world.

“It was a complete change, not just with rugby and everything but the lifestyle and the culture and everything, which is certainly what I was after and certainly what I got.

“Montepellier itself, they did have a football team in the top league, they’ve got a volleyball team in the top league, they’ve got a handball team in the top league… it was pretty nice just being able to be over there and be yourself and cruise and enjoy the lifestyle.”

Bridge was used almost exclusively as a winger by Montpellier and the Crusaders when named in the starting XV, aside from a couple of appearances at fullback in 2018 and another three starts out the back across the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

But Bridge has been moved in-field, with Cron selecting the former All Black at outside centre for both pre-season matches, which included a start alongside 95-Test Wallaby Kurtley Beale in the midfield against the Queensland Reds.

Cron sat down with Bridge last year, with the two “pretty well aligned” on a positional change for the marquee recruit. Bridge was interested in a move to either fullback or centre, with ‘Cronno’ naming the New Zealander at No. 13 for the round one match against the Brums.

“It’s been really good. It’s been a good adjustment. I’ve been enjoying training at centre, sort of learning the new role,” he explained when asked about the move.

“The Force definitely play a really exciting, attacking brand of footy so I’ve just been figuring out my position within that and being that link between our 10s to outsides and the link between our forwards as well. Then on the defensive side, being a bit of a defensive leader and sort of bossing everyone around.

“It’s been a good, nice change for me and I’ve been enjoying it so far so looking forward to continuing it.”

Pre-season training with the Force started in early November for Bridge, but at the time of writing, the season opener is a little over 48 hours away for the Perth-based side. They host the Brumbies at HBF Park in the final fixture of round one, kicking off at 4:35 pm WST on Saturday.

Jeremy Williams will serve as skipper once again, while Wallabies Nick Champion de Crespigny and Ben Donaldson are vice-captains this season. Bridge is also part of the leadership group, along with Tom Robertson and Beale.

Bridge has a reunion with the Crusaders to look forward to on April 18 at HBF Park, with former teammates David Havili, Will Jordan and Codie Taylor still part of the squad. The Crusaders are the defending champions once again, having won eight titles in nine years.

“A lot of the boys that I was mates with have moved on but there’s still a lot of the boys that I’m really good mates with that are still playing.

“It’ll be a great challenge and good to catch up with them all.”