Bruce had played 22 games for the Highlanders, and 24 games for Otago when he was - somewhat surprisingly to some - left out of the protected players list for the Highlanders for the 2008 season.
He was snapped up in the draft by the Chiefs and shifted to Hamilton, which after a few months became a permanent move.
And Bruce has never looked back, saying he is loving the Waikato environment.
"Everything is coming along quite well - being back in the North Island not far from home. And Hamilton is a similar sort of town to Dunedin in that there are a lot of students," he said.
"Initially, there was a feeling of great disappointment of missing out on the Highlanders. I had yellow and blue blood running through my veins. I had never envisaged missing out and it was a bit of a shock."
But Bruce, who was born and bred in Napier, and moved south for education, said the move to Hamilton had been fantastic for him.
"My game has improved, and that is not just because of the Chiefs and Waikato environment. You develop with age, so you improve in that respect.
"But when you are around players like Richard Kahui, Stephen Donald and Mils [Muliaina], who have played at the higher level, then you have to lift your standards to play with them.
"You have to play well to live up to their expectations."
This year has been especially rewarding for Bruce (26), with the Chiefs reaching the Super 14 final, Bruce being picked as a replacement player for the Junior All Blacks in the Pacific Nations Cup, and now Waikato grabbing some form in the domestic competition.
Waikato has won four of its last five games and is in semifinal contention after a slow start.
But Bruce said his team would not be underestimating Otago.
"Otago has nothing to lose now, and we are really conscious they might produce something special."
It will be Bruce's first game on Carisbrook since he left Otago, but will not be his last visit to Dunedin for the year.
He will graduate in December with a physical education degree from the University of Otago, having cross-credited a couple of papers from Waikato University to finish off.
He expects to be capped with his former flatmate, Otago flanker and captain Alando Soakai.
"We've both been chipping away at it for years now, with rugby getting in the way. But it'll be great the both of us walking up that stage to get the degree."
