Move to the Bay pays off for Bardoul

‘‘I was pretty fit, I thought, when I played ITM Cup for the Bay last year but it’s a whole different fitness at this level.’’

Johan Bardoul still considers himself a Waikato boy at heart but since moving to Bay of Plenty he is living the Chiefs dream and making the most of his chances.

At 27 – a late developer in a professional game dominated by academies and recruiting out of high schools – Bardoul was snapped up by the Chiefs after a standout national provincial championship season for Bay of Plenty last year and played a standout 70 minutes off the bench on Saturday night after All Black star Brodie Retallick was injured.

After moving from Hinuera to get a taste of premier division club rugby, Bardoul battled away for Hamilton Old Boys wholeheartedly for a few seasons and even captained the side but it was not until the penultimate game of the 2012 national provincial premiership that he got to play for Waikato.

He was impressive as an impact player off the bench in Waikato’s big win over Counties Manukau that day when first-choice players were rested between Ranfurly Shield games but it was not enough to keep the rugged 1.92m, 112kg loose forward/lock here.

Time was ticking by in his career and he needed to get some regular game time. Bay of Plenty came knocking, he became a Steamer in 2013 and has not looked back.

‘‘The Bay gave me an opportunity that I didn’t get here,’’ Bardoul said. ‘‘It was a tough decision at the time because my heart lies with Waikato as this was where I was brought up. But sometimes you’ve just got to leave for opportunity.’’

The qualified school teacher, whose parents farm near Matamata as well as owning another farm on the east coast, now just wants to get more game time but realises it is a very competitive squad to be in. ‘‘There are some quality loosies in the Chiefs but that’s good – there’s a fair bit of competition.’’

Bardoul made his Chiefs debut off the bench against the Blues in this season’s opening game and despite fewer minutes on the field than at the weekend he still caught the eye but missed out on the match 23 the following weekend against the Brumbies as All Blacks returned to the fray. While the promotion has come later than for most players, Bardoul is certainly handling it well.

‘‘It’s a big step up but with the boys around you, the calibre of players we have in the team, it makes it that much easier as everyone just does their job.

‘‘The conditioning and that has been awesome so far and it definitely helps. It is obviously a huge step up from ITM Cup.

‘‘I was pretty fit, I thought, when I played ITM Cup for the Bay last year but it’s a whole different fitness at this level and I felt pretty good out there tonight,’’ he said.

Bardoul prides himself on his work rate and that is what attracted the attention of the Chiefs’ coaches who put great store by that, while he has been asked to improve his ball carrying at the franchise and did that against the Crusaders.

‘‘He was instrumental where he put his hands on the ball three or four times in the leadup to Sonny’s try,’’ Chiefs head coach Dave Rennie said.

‘‘We’re fortunate we’ve got some good boys there and I thought Maama [Vaipulu] was great off the bench as well, so we’ve managed to get some good depth.’’

Mind you, Rennie pointed out that Bardoul had been given the message to put his kicking boots away or he would be subbed next time he kicked the ball after a shocker during the match.