Aki on sacrifices, outside noise and the World Cup

Bundee Aki has become one of the most recognisable and respected rugby players in the world, but his path to the highest echelons of the game was far from serene.

His life changed in 2014 when he accepted an offer from Connacht.

Aki uprooted his family from New Zealand, settled in Galway and has established himself as a barnstorming, edge-of-your-seat centre for Connacht, Ireland and the British and Irish Lions.

But before he found a new home on the west of Ireland, the centre’s budding rugby career took a backseat while he worked as a bank teller in Auckland to support his family.

“I fully stopped [playing rugby],” Aki told the Ireland Rugby Social.

“Before that, when I first started playing, I was in the New Zealand Under-20s camp. I remember the first camp, I said, ‘I actually can’t come because I’m starting work’.

“But my manager told me to go so I turned up late to camp, passed that camp and went to the second one, did the same thing and just didn’t turn up to the third one because I was working.

“They are the sacrifices you have to make. I needed the money.”

Aki’s rugby talents were no secret, though, and he was offered a route back into the sport when former All Blacks captain Tana Umaga walked into the bank and offered him the chance to link up with Counties Manukau.

“He said, ‘I heard a lot about you with rugby and I’m willing to give you a chance to see where you’re at but I can’t promise you a contract’.

“I spoke to my manager [in the bank]. Obviously I was watching all my mates on the telly and I wanted to give it a go. I was lucky because my manager was supportive and let me go for the year and said, ‘if it doesn’t work out, you can come back here’.”

But it did work out. After starring for Counties, Aki signed with the Chiefs – then Super Rugby champions – for the 2013 season and helped them retain the title.

While his stock was rising in New Zealand, Aki felt he wasn’t going to break into the All Blacks squad and decided Ireland was where he wanted to build his career.

Joining Connacht – then coached by fellow Aucklander Pat Lam – proved the launching pad.

In the 2015-16 season, he missed only one game as the side won their first Pro12 title. Aki was named player of the year and, having completed a three-year residency period as per World Rugby rules at the time, he became eligible to represent Ireland before the 2017 autumn internationals.

His inclusion in the Irish squad sparked an intense debate around World Rugby’s three-year residency rule – which was later extended to five – but Aki says he has learned to block out the outside noise.

“It was always there,” he said of the noise surrounding the rule.

“Obviously a lot of people interviewed me about it. I tried to stay away from it because I knew of the noise going around, guys getting angry about it.

“I would lie to say I didn’t see it. A lot of online stuff. It just comes with it. I was lucky having people around me, my partner said, ‘you don’t need to worry about it, you just need to perform and then that’s it’.”

Fellow New Zealand-born backs James Lowe and Jamison Gibson-Park also qualified for Ireland under the residency rule and Aki said they still “get noises about it”.

He added: “I think it’s just part of it. I have no issues with people’s opinions. Unless they come and say it to my face while my kids and wife are there, that’s a different story.

“It’s alright for people to say what they’re going to say. It’s not going to hurt me.”

Aki has certainly not allowed online chatter to affect his Test career. Now 35, he has 68 caps for Ireland and has twice toured with the British and Irish Lions.

He has won two Grand Slams with Ireland and was outstanding in Andy Farrell’s side’s run to the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-finals, earning him a nomination for World Rugby’s player of the year award.

While Aki will be 37 by the time of the 2027 World Cup in Australia, he is not thinking about slowing down just yet.

“If I’m playing alright and my body feels good, by all means, if Faz picks me then I’ll go,” said Aki, who is expected to be named in Ireland’s Six Nations squad next week.

On the Ireland Rugby Social, Aki also delves into working under Stuart Lancaster at Connacht, reveals which personalities surprised him on last year’s British and Irish Lions tour and recalls his recent on-field clash with Ireland team-mate Stuart McCloskey.