Connacht’s wind-beaten Kiwi looking forward to PRO12 rematch with Scarlets

BUNDEE Aki roars laughing when he’s asked about the origin of his name. In fairness, it’s unusual: There aren’t many Bundees strolling around the hills of Connemara or streets of Galway city.

The New Zealander with Samoan roots explains he was named after the doctor who delivered him. “It doesn’t mean anything, my mum was a bit too kind letting the doctor name me!”

He adds: “My coaches, when I first started playing rugby, called me Bundee because my other name was too long.”

But what is the longer version of the shortened Bundee? “No-one knows it so I’m not going to say,” he says, laughing again.

It all adds to the mystique surrounding the centre who has struck up a solid midfield partnership with Robbie Henshaw since joining Connacht at the beginning of last season.

He’s laughing again when asked what he doesn’t like about Galway. The 25-year-old swivels his head round and nods disapprovingly at the window of the Sportsground press centre. “The weather,” he says, as the tail-end of Storm Jonas rages outside. “I’m real bad with the weather. When it gets windy I just don’t like it. Last night I thought my roof was going to come off!”

Aki likes it here, though. “I’m enjoying my time here in Galway. I’m settling really well. People here are really good, really friendly. There’s nothing better than coming into a town with lovely people.”

Aki, touted as a future Ireland international, will qualify through residency when his three year contract expires at the end of next season.

“I’ve said it many times: I do have ambitions to play international, I really do, but right now, I’ve just got to focus on my team here, and my main focus is trying to get them into Champions Cup, which I really want to play in. Hopefully we get there at the end of this year,” he says.

Aki is looking forward to this Saturday’s rematch with league leaders Scarlets at the Sportsground (3pm), particularly given the manner in which Connacht surrendered a lead to the same opposition in Wales a few weeks ago.

Rectifying that is “a big motivation,” says Aki. “There’s a lot at stake. For us to be on top of the table, we have to beat them. Obviously we want to qualify ourselves for Champions Cup rugby and to do that we have to get past this hurdle.”

That gut-wrenching loss could yet come back to haunt Connacht but head coach Pat Lam says he won’t be mentioning it this week to the players for motivation.“I don’t think I really need to,” he says.

“Probably the most frustrating thing coming out of that game was we felt we did everything we needed to win the game but we didn’t win the game. And as I said after, we only had ourselves to blame. We had opportunities to win the game comfortably, and then we had an opportunity to close the game out and we didn’t do either of those things and that caused a real sense of frustration after that game.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.