John Hardie (born 27 July 1988) is a New Zealand born Scottish international

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player who plays for

Newcastle Falcons Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union. The club was established in 1877 as the Gosforth Football Club. Around 1882 the club merged with the Northumberland Football Cl ...

. Hardie predominantly plays as an open side flanker, though he is also comfortable on the blindside. Having previously played for the

Southland Stags Rugby Southland (formerly the Southland Rugby Football Union) is the provincial rugby union who govern the Southland region of New Zealand. Their headquarters are at Rugby Park Stadium in Invercargill, which is also the home ground of the unio ...

in the

Mitre 10 Cup The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in t ...

and the Highlanders in the

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

competition.

Playing career

Club career

As a student of Southland Boys High School he was in the first XV for three years from 2004 to 2006 earning New Zealand Secondary Schools selection in his final year. The following year he was a member of the New Zealand Under 19 team which won the 2007 IRB World Championships in Ireland. He made his

Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Re ...

debut in 2007 against

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

, and emerged as a full-time starter during the 2009 Air New Zealand Cup, appearing in every match and scoring three tries. He continued to be a key member of the squad as the Stags defended the

Ranfurly Shield The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Shield is based on a challenge system. The holding union must defend the shield in challeng ...

for the greater part of the 2010 ITM Cup season. Another outstanding season with the Stags in 2011, in which they regained the

from Canterbury, saw him named Stags player of the year and also Southland Supporters Club player of the year for the second year. In 2013, Hardie again won the Stags player of the year and also the players player title. In 2014, he again won player of the year title. Based on his strong performance in the 2009 Air New Zealand Cup, Hardie was included in the Highlanders squad for the

2010 Super 14 season The 2010 Super 14 season kicked off in February 2010 with pre-season matches held from mid-January. It finished on 29 May. The 2010 season was the fifth and last season of the expanded Super 14 format. The schedule, which covers 3½ months, fea ...

. Serving mainly as backup to starting flankers Adam Thomson and Alando Soakai, he made 11 appearances over the course of the 13-game season, including three starts. In

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, with the departure of Soakai to Japan, Hardie emerged as the starting openside flanker, but was sidelined with a serious toe injury. While the Highlanders had a poor 2013, Hardie was one of the teams outstanding performers, leading the team in tackles completed, pilfers and runs made. Following the World Cup he joined

Edinburgh Rugby Edinburgh Rugby (formerly Edinburgh Reivers, Edinburgh Gunners) is one of the two professional rugby union teams from Scotland. The club competes in the United Rugby Championship, along with the Glasgow Warriors, its oldest rival. Edinburgh play ...

for the

Pro14 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

2015/2016 Season. After being released by Edinburgh in 2018, Hardie had a trial with French

Top14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

club Clermont. On 26 October 2018, Hardie signed for

in the English

Premiership Rugby Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

with immediate effect as injury cover for the rest of the 2018–19 season. After impressive performance for Newcastle, Hardie signed a two-year contract extension with the club until the end of the 2020–21 season. In June 2021 Hardie (then 32) announced his retirement from all forms of competitive rugby making the 2020/21 season with Newcastle Falcons his last as a player.

International career

Hardie made a highly successful international debut for Scotland on 22 August 2015, in a World Cup warm-up game against Italy in Turin. Hardie qualifies for Scotland through his grandmother who was from Low Valleyfield, Culross in Fife. Hardie had never visited Scotland prior to arriving in the UK in build up to the World Cup. He scored his first international try in the match against Japan at the 2015 World Cup.

Personal life

In January 2017, it was reported that Hardie had chased down and caught a

shoplifter Shoplifting is the theft of goods from an open retail establishment, typically by concealing a store item on one's person, in pockets, under clothes or in a bag, and leaving the store without paying. With clothing, shoplifters may put on items ...

at Edinburgh's Ocean Terminal shopping centre. In October 2017, it was reported that Hardie had been suspended by

for alleged cocaine use. As result in November 2017, he was suspended for three months by

Scottish Rugby The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU; gd, Aonadh Rugbaidh na h-Alba) is the governing body of rugby union in Scotland. Styled as Scottish Rugby, it is the second oldest Rugby Union, having been founded in 1873. The SRU oversees the national league s ...

for "Gross Misconduct".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardie, John 1988 births People educated at Southland Boys' High School Living people New Zealand rugby union players Rugby union flankers Highlanders (rugby union) players Southland rugby union players People from Lumsden, New Zealand Scotland international rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in Scotland New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Newcastle Falcons players