“I’ll try and get Dave Rennie to teach us a song too” – All Blacks prop George Bower
From a young age All Blacks prop George Bower was always passionate about using his talent and qualities to lift those around him.
It’s a character trait he credits to his upbringing and his parents back in Taita, Lower Hutt, through church and his Fijian roots.
Now playing professional rugby for the Crusaders and All Blacks, he continues to bring those qualities to this environment hoping it helps to elevate his teammates off the field, especially when it requires picking up the guitar and strumming a few tunes.
“A huge part of that for me was the fellowship in church and youth events and stuff. Mum and Dad will always tell me to go up and lead the youth and talk, be yourself and shine my light wherever I am,” Bower says.
“Ardie (Ardie Savea) always says it as well, the importance of us island boys to shine our light to the people around us, because we can uplift the mood which, for me, is pretty simple. A bit of banter, but also, the most important thing is, I love singing. So I get the boys to sing.”
Bower says he’s not the only one with musical skills within the side, as he teams up with a couple of others to form what he calls the “music committee”.
“The past few weeks I have been teaching the boys a couple of songs, myself and Pasi (Pasilio Tosi), and I’ll try and get Dave Rennie to teach us a song too,” he laughs.
“I am more of the singing actually, Pasi and Fehi (Fehi Fineanganofo) they are the guitarists if you want lessons.”
Helping others and putting a smile on their faces comes naturally for Bower and, ironically, it’s something which nearly put him on a totally different career path.
Making the move to Dunedin and leaving his home in Lower Hutt, he had set out originally to become a teacher, while juggling rugby at the time.
“I was playing rugby and was a teacher aid as well and I kind of fell in love with working with children and helping them learn and grow. Most importantly how they can find solutions which was cool,” he added.
“That inspired me to teach so I got into it, and I was in my last year then I got offered to play for the Crusaders and I had to park it up. It’s something I haven’t gotten around to finish, but I still have the urge to work with the next generation.”
A couple of weeks back, during the Super Rugby season, Bower notched up his 100th appearance with the Crusaders and, on top of that, also scored his very first try for the club.
Since making his debut for the All Blacks in 2021 against Tonga and has gone on to play 26 tests for the black jersey including last week’s win against Italy in Wellington.
Looking back at it, alongside the many other feats and achievements in his career, Bower says it is important to reflect on them as it keeps him grounded throughout his journey.
“Sometimes if you don’t look back and you keep on thinking forward you can get lost and get caught up in what you are doing. For me when I think back from where I have come from, it keeps me grounded,” he says.
“It’s a huge part of why I am here, being grateful and grounded for the learnings from the past.”
