BundeeeeeEEEEEE!!
Bundee Aki was the last man on the pitch at The Sportsground, last night. The Connacht centre has a superstition – similar to CJ Stander – of being the final one of his team to take to the field of play.
Roared on by The Sportsground, Aki stooped to one knee and blessed himself before pointing to the heavens and joining his teammates.
There was a lot of attention on Aki as this was his first game since being included in an Ireland squad by Joe Schmidt. He is Irish qualified under the soon-to-change World Rugby residency rules [36 months for eligibility will rise to 60 in the coming years] but some are unhappy that a Kiwi could make Schmidt’s squad while Simon Zebo and Tadhg Beirne, among others, miss out.
Aki never hides so if Munster were looking for him, last night, they didn’t have to look far.
Within 90 seconds he had collided with Stander, was shunted back and yet somehow managed to wrench the ball from the No.8’s grasp. He came in for some rough treatment from the Munster men but it was all above board. Nothing sinister but his card was most definitely marked.
Connacht head coach Kieran Keane said, after his side’s 20-16 victory, that he sees Aki as a 12 but he is used at 13 because Tom Farrell, who scored the match-winning try, is better suited at inside centre. One position further out the backline, Aki ran hard, smart lines and put teammates through holes with smart passes. His well-timed, pass to Jarrad Butler helped set up Tiernan O’Halloran’s excellent try.
Himself and Farrell were on at the death and their fierce defence and line speed was as impressive then as it was in the opening exchanges.
As Munster clapped the victors off the pitch, Aki shared a few warm words with some of the opponents who will be his Ireland teammates next month. He was called back for an interview so did not get the rousing acclaim as Connacht trotted back to the dressing room. He said:
“A lot of people were writing us off in the beginning of the year and we had a slow start but we’re picking it up and slowly getting into a groove… the boys played really well; they played their hearts out tonight.”
Asked about next week’s visit of the Cheetahs, he joked, “Hopefully the weather won’t be as good as tonight, because they can play some rugby, and we can give them some Galway weather!”
Aki then left the pitch and the reception he got from the Connacht faithful was even more resounding than the one afforded to his teammates. He jogged over to embrace his family then high-fived a multitude as he went to join the victory celebrations.
Connacht shared a super video of the dressing room scenes and the reaction when Aki arrived on the scene will tell you how much he is loved and respected by his colleagues.
That winning feeling… pic.twitter.com/Ql2CRiGJJm
— Connacht Rugby (@connachtrugby) October 28, 2017
We can’t wait to see what he can do in a different shade of green next month
