Jackson Garden-Bachop was born in Dunedin and raised in Wellington. He is of Māori, Samoan, French Polynesian and Cook Island descent. He comes from a talented sporting family. This includes father Stephen who played for the All Blacks and Manu Samoa, while his late mother Sue represented the Black Ferns. Garden-Bachop is also the older brother of Highlander’s back the late Connor Garden-Bachop. Inaugural Moana Pasifika head coach Aaron Mauger is also his cousin.

Garden-Bachop is also a father of four.

He spent his early childhood in London where his dad was playing rugby for the London Irish. His family then moved back to New Zealand when he was eight. Garden-Bachop began playing rugby in London as a four-year-old. As a kid he played multiple sports including football, rugby league, touch, volleyball and athletics.

Garden Bachop attended Wellington’s Scots College and was part of the First XV since his second year in College. He captained the team and established himself as one of the standout performers in the school competition.

He was a member of the Wellington high-performance schools’ team and the Hurricanes under-18 training camp. The dynamic first-five also represented New Zealand at schoolboy level in 2012 and for the Under 20s in 2014.

Garden-Bachop made his provincial debut for the Wellington Lions as a teenager during the 2013 ITM Cup. Over the next three seasons he made more appearances and by 2016 was Wellington’s starting fly half.

In 2017 he had a stellar season being named Wellington Lions Player of the Year. He played a crucial role in leading the Lions to their championship title and promotion to the premiership, scoring 142 points for the team. That same year he made his debut for the Māori All Blacks and came off the bench against Canada in Toronto. He made his starting debut the following week against the French Barbarians.

Garden-Bachop had a short stint with the Melbourne Rebels in 2017, playing in 13 matches and scoring a try. He then moved back home to the Hurricanes in 2018. He made his debut for the Hurricanes against the Jaguares in Argentina.

Garden-Bachop made his debut for the Maori All Blacks in 2017 coming off the Bench against Canada in Toronto and made his starting debut against the French Barbarians in Bordeaux the following week.

He continued his success with the Wellington Lions, helping them end their 22-year NPC title drought in 2022 against Canterbury. He was then part of their sixth title victory in 2024 against Bay of Plenty.

In 2023 he signed with CA Brive in the French Top 14 competition. Then in September 2024, Garden-Bachop signed with Moana Pasifika for the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific season bringing a wealth of experience, and an amazing rugby IQ.

Throughout Moana Pasifika’s season, Garden-Bachop was an influential leader and guided fellow number 10 Patrick Pellegrini in his rookie year. Garden-Bachop showed his ability to stay calm under pressure and make good decisions while communicating effectively with the team.

Moana Pasifika debut: 2025 v Western Force