When Bundee Aki left New Zealand to bravely pursue a new life for himself and his family in Connacht and Ireland back in 2014, there were some who weren’t shy about suggesting his motives were entirely financial.
The questioning of his motives, and indeed of his right to play for Ireland through the residency ruling, has seemed to follow him more than others who’ve made similar career decisions such as, say, Ian McKinley, who made his Italian debut on the same day as Aki did for Ireland.
Yet this is, after all, a professional sport which has more exacting demands and a shorter shelf life than other, more financially rewarding other ones.
Born in the Auckland suburb of Otahuhu, to his Samoan parents Hercules and Sautia, and the second eldest of seven children, Aki played rugby at Manurewa High School, one of the largest multicultural secondary schools in New Zealand.
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Rugby gave him opportunities in life that otherwise he would not have had, first with Counties Manakau and then the Waikato Chiefs. He will soon begin his ninth season with Connacht, having shown unquestionable loyalty to the province and done as much as any player in inspiring young kids to take up the game west of the Shannon.
In any event, eight years on from leaving New Zealand, the 32-year-old Aki is back in familiar terrain and, more than ever, can hold his head high.
While he’s played 37 times in official tests, it’s doubtful that any of those games will have meant more to him than captaining Ireland in their tour opener against the Maori All Blacks, not least as it fittingly brought him back to the Waikato Stadium where he had some of his finest hours with the Chiefs.
Aki has long since proven his loyalty to Connacht, for whom he has played 119 times in eight seasons, and Ireland. The boy from South Auckland has done fine.
“It’s a huge privilege, it’s an honour,” said Aki on captaining Ireland. “Very proud moment for myself and my family. I’m a kid from South Auckland, not many opportunities come your way. I’m privileged to be here to be a part of this team and lead the boys out.”
The honour is, Aki admitted, all the more special for the game being at what is now the FMG Stadium in Hamilton. In his two seasons with the Chiefs they retained their Super Rugby title in 2013 and reached the play-offs the following year.
Among Aki’s 26 games for the Chiefs were 15 at home, of which he was on the winning side a dozen times, including the semi-final and final victories over the Crusaders and Brumbies in 2013.
While choosing Aki as captain might seem fairly left-field, Farrell saw his centre as an obvious choice.
“Oh, it’s a no-brainer for us. He’s unbelievably well respected within the group. He always downplays himself and he’s super-excited. He’s super-proud and he spoke unbelievably well during the week in giving the lads a heads up as to what’s around the corner, and also what he feels it’s like to be Irish.
“He’s truly immersed into the Irish culture, the Irish way of living, the way we want to play. It’s a no-brainer for us.”
Yet when Farrell first approached Aki in a corridor of the squad’s hotel in Auckland on Monday morning, the player himself admitted he was shocked.
“I stood there for a bit,” Aki recalled with a laugh, before pausing as if reliving the moment.
“I honestly thought he was joking,” he added, his beaming smile also conveying how proud the moment had felt. “But like I said, it is a huge honour and it is a privilege to be asked by Faz and to be able to lead the lads.”
Recalling their conversation, Farrell said: “He stood there for a moment and I didn’t know whether he was going to cry, laugh, or turn me down or not but he was pretty emotional. It means a hell of a lot to him and he just needs to be himself because he’s got good people around him.”
Aki admitted he could not recall ever captaining a side of any description in his career. His former Connacht head coach Pat Lam had named him captain of the Barbarians side to face England at Twickenham four years ago. “But I didn’t make the plane.”
Still, he’s worked under plenty of good ones.
“I’ve been captained by some immense, world-class players. Johnny (Sexton) is obviously one of them, Pete O’Mahony, James Ryan. I could name a few of them. I’ll be looking upon them to get a bit of help.”
Andy Friend has confirmed the clear evidence that Aki has become much more of a vocal leader since the player’s experience of touring with the Lions last year in the tough conditions imposed by the pandemic.
“Yeah, obviously I am well-experienced now to be able to play and try help out the young guys, trying to share my experiences with them and go from there and lead by my actions.”
Farrell is also tapping into Aki’s inherent knowledge of New Zealand rugby and the mentality of its representative sides.
“There will be a lot of pride, a lot of guys trying to make a statement,” said Aki of the teams Ireland will face on this searching tour. “It’s their back yard they are all going to playing in, but it’s about us. It’s how together we can be and how good we can be to take those challenges in front of us, and just go after it.”
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Like his Connacht teammates Dave Heffernan and Cian Prendergast, playing the Maori All Blacks marked their first match in seven weeks, and also suggests Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose will be the midfield partnership against the All Blacks in the First Test at Eden Park next Saturday.
The starting XV for next Saturday have been training separately, but while Aki has sampled a similar experience while touring with the Lions, he doesn’t see that as particularly relevant.
“It’s an experience in itself but like I said, I think everyone when you get onto the pitch, it’s just a game of footie. You do what you do, and you’re doing it for the love of the game. You do it because you enjoy doing it, the best thing about it is, you’re doing it with a group of guys that you love being around.”
