It’s hard to imagine Bundee Aki donning his suit and tie and sitting behind the teller’s desk at the local bank, yet for a period in his late teens that was the Aucklander’s lot.
he 9-5 existence convinced the powerful centre that professional rugby was his calling, but as he walked out of the branch for the final time he can never have imagined where his career would take him.
Over the past week, the 31-year-old has been getting to know his Lions team-mates in Jersey; players drawn from the four corners of Britain and Ireland. The next eight weeks could be the crowning glory of a wildly successful stint in Europe.
His route to the red jersey is a very different one to anyone else on the field; the kid from a tough neighbourhood in South Auckland who became a cult hero on the west coast of Ireland and now a key part of the Lions’ plans to beat the world champions on their own soil.
Aki earned his spot on the plane in that explosive 61-minute performance against England. He left the field early after a red card and has played very little rugby since due to his ban, but his fellow Waikato Chief Warren Gatland saw enough to know that the centre will be an important player in South Africa.
As a result of his lack of game-time, it was a surprise when Aki’s name was read out by Jason Leonard a couple of weeks ago. Gatland explained that his relationship with Robbie Henshaw was central to the decision.
Ever since he decided to ditch the real world and give his talent a chance, Aki has been dominating top-level games. First at Counties Manukau, then at the Chiefs before he took up Pat Lam’s offer to come to Galway and join Connacht.
Craig Ronaldson remembers rooming with a nervous Aki ahead of his Connacht debut in Swansea back in 2013. The Kiwi had been quiet in the build-up, but made his mark once Pat Lam brought him off the bench.
It wasn’t long before he felt comfortable and found his voice.
“Once he settled in on the pitch and got a few games under his belt, he grew into himself off the pitch and had more of an influence,” Ronaldson, now a player coach with Naas RFC, recalls if his old team-mate.
“He wasn’t shy about letting people know how he felt, pushing lads on and off the pitch. That only grew.
“He really settled into the place, a few guys had come and gone during the early years and didn’t really buy into Galway or settle in, but in fairness to Bundee he properly bought into it and he and Kayla, his wife, settled in and got on with everyone.
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“He was the kind of character that at the start guys probably weren’t too sure about, they didn’t know how to handle him. He’s very different from that typical Irish player coming up through the clubs or schools; once he got comfortable he was quite outspoken.
“Once people knew what his intentions were, that he only wanted to make the team better, lads bought into it then.”
Aki had been part of a Counties set-up that built themselves into a team capable of winning the Ranfurly Shield, while he was a central cog in the Chiefs side that stunned Super Rugby for two successive seasons before Connacht came calling.
Lam brought vision to the western province, but Aki was the on-field presence who filled his team-mates with belief as they built year on year to become the PRO12 champions in 2016.
Later that year, he qualified to play for Ireland on residency and became a key part of Joe Schmidt’s set-up.
His first act as an Ireland player saw him smash Springbok prop Coenie Oosthuizen so hard he put him out of the game for nine months. Within months he was a key part of the team that won the Grand Slam. A year later, he’d beaten the All Blacks.
Connacht assistant coach Pete Wilkins once prepared to face Aki when he was coaching the Queensland Reds and he’s impressed by the way he’s developed during his time in Ireland.
“As with a lot of players who come from Super Rugby to northern hemisphere competitions, his ability to add that consistency of performance in different environments, weather conditions, sometimes when it’s not conducive to playing as exciting or expansive rugby, he’s shown a growth in his ability to do the grunt-work,” Wilkins says.
“There may be games where he’s only fighting at close-quarters, having to clean a lot of breakdowns but he’s shown he’s more than prepared to do that.
“He’s got a nice balance, he’s not lost that X-factor but he’s also shown he’s prepared to do the hard-yards for his team when it’s required.
“He is a pretty well-rounded player, add in his understanding of defensive systems which he’s continued to develop in the last few seasons alongside his ability to hit hard and be a destructive defender – I can see why the Lions would want him in that group.
“It’s well deserved, he’s the full package.”
He goes on tour as a senior player and a Test contender, light on game-time but heavy on experience and with a big voice that the Lions will be getting used to now.
Aki may have been a surprise inclusion in Gatland’s squad, but he’s there for a reason and the former Auckland bank teller with Samoan heritage could help the Lions roar in South Africa.