Statement: New Zealand rugby winger Connor Garden-Bachop dies aged 25
Rugby NewsTuesday, 18 June 2024 at 10:33
New Zealand Super Rugby player Connor Garden-Bachop has died at the age of 25.
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Garden-Bachop passed away in Christchurch on Monday due to a "medical event," according to New Zealand Rugby.
His father, Stephen Bachop, represented both Samoa and New Zealand in rugby, while his mother, Sue Garden-Bachop, played for the New Zealand women's team, the Black Ferns.
He was also the nephew of Graeme Bachop, a scrum-half who played for the All Blacks in the 1991 and 1995 World Cups and for Japan in the 1999 tournament.
Garden-Bachop had been with the Highlanders for the past five years and left the team earlier this month after their Super Rugby campaign ended in the quarter-finals.
"All of rugby walks alongside the Garden-Bachop family at this time and we are collectively united in our grief," read the statement.
"Connor was a fantastic young player, an exciting New Zealand age-grade representative and a proud Maori All Black.
"Wherever he played, he was a committed and popular team-mate with infectious energy and someone who could light up the room."
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