Professional rugby player Dominic Bird said he enjoys spending time in his former Central Hawke's Bay district. Photo / Supplied
Professional rugby player Dominic Bird said he enjoys spending time in his former Central Hawke's Bay district. Photo / Supplied
Waipukurau born-and-raised lock Dominic Bird was supposed to be making his first appearance in Super Rugby since 2018 this weekend.
But the 30-year-old isn't with his new Hurricanes teammates in the Queenstown bubble, instead staying behind in Wellington as he recovers from a December shoulder surgery.
Bird is out ofa sling now and back in some training with the 'Canes standby group but looks set to miss the entire season, with a return to play ruled out until July.
He is gutted to miss out, but going through preseason with the rest of the players has given him the best possible insight on how the 2022 Hurricanes will perform.
"They're really champing at the bit … they'll go well and it's exciting for them to step up," Bird said.
The 2.06m lock knows plenty about rising through the rugby ranks as a young talent.
After making the "really tough" call to leave Hawke's Bay for a rugby scholarship at Lincoln University, he stepped up from the Canterbury NPC side to the Crusaders, and then to the All Blacks by 2013.
Bird played in tests against Japan and Scotland, and made the national squad again in 2017 after joining the Chiefs the year before.
Ashton Tuck and Dominic Bird pictured in 2008 as Hawke's Bay's two New Zealand Under-17 players. Photo / NZME
Suburban Paris club Racing Metro came calling in 2018, and he spent three seasons in France's premier division, the Top 14.
The club were keen to keep their star lock on board, but a desire to be back among family brought Bird home last July.
He played for Wellington in the NPC but has had plenty of time to soak up a summer back home in Hawke's Bay.
"Pourerere Beach, catching up with mates ... it's been refreshing. I do treasure the rural community ... touching all those nostalgia buttons."
The Central Hawke's Bay College old boy, who surpassed father and former Magpie lock John Bird in height in Year 10, recalls getting serious about rugby around the same time.
His first meeting with then Hawke's Bay Rugby Academy head Dave Thomas set him on his path.
"I remember writing the date in my schoolbook, it was June 13 when I was 15 years old. That was the day I decided in my head that I wanted to be a professional rugby player."
He hopes the job will take him abroad again down the line.
With young locks Tupou Vaa'i and Josh Lord blocking any real chance of making the All Blacks again, Bird is keen on a stint playing in Japan in the future for another new experience.
"I really loved going to France, especially for the culture and the rugby is really different."
