IF YOU THINK back to the situation Bundee Aki found himself last January, it’s remarkable to consider how the year played out for him.
Aki found himself out of the Connacht team throughout the month as the province negotiated one of the trickiest periods of the season. His absence sparked suggestions all was not well behind the scenes but as the year progressed, that was all soon forgotten.
The centre played a key role as Ireland stormed to Grand Slam success in the Six Nations before delivering some of the best rugby of his career at the World Cup in France. Now back fit and firing at Connacht again, all looks rosy for a man who is entering his 10th year at The Sportsground.
Ireland fell short in France but it proved a season to remember for Aki, whose exploits earned him a nomination for World Rugby Player of the Year. The 33-year-old lost out to New Zealand number eight Ardie Savea on the night but had better luck in Dublin yesterday, where he was named the Rugby Writers Ireland Men’s Player of the Year for 2023.
In doing so Aki joins some illustrious company and significantly, becomes the first Connacht player to win the award since Eric Elwood in the 1992/93 season.
“That is special, especially when you have the likes of Eric Elwood,” Aki said. “He’s a legend of Connacht and to be given this award is unbelievably humbling.
“I try to not think of it in terms of the best (form) of my career. I’m just doing the same thing that I’ve been trying to do week in, week out, and obviously when you have such an abundance of talent around you within the group, they make you look good.
“I’m quite lucky that I have guys around me who make me look good. You look at the team that’s there. I think one of Ireland’s best players ever is Johnny Sexton, and when you have a guy like him trying to lead and making you look good and making things look so easy, you’re only doing your job. You’re only doing exactly what you’re meant to do.
“It’s all thanks to the guys who are around you, who supported you and also made you look good.”
Ireland’s World Cup journey ended in bitter disappointment against New Zealand on a night where Aki led the charge with a stunning try. A few months down the line he can now reflect it on as one of the most enjoyable experiences of his career. While Andy Farrell’s group had ambitions beyond the quarter-finals, those special nights in front of a huge travelling Irish support will live long in the memory.
“They were immense. I’ve said this before, being around this bunch of guys, this group of coaches, was one of the best times of my life, being able to work hard together to reach our goals.
“Obviously, we fell short but that’s rugby. Rugby can be cruel at times. You don’t always win, but definitely the confidence was there, the attitude was there, the commitment was there.
“You can pick the (New Zealand) game apart, but I still think it was one of the best times of my career in 2023, with everything really. Obviously, it was disappointing to go out like that, especially when you know what you wanted to achieve as a group.”
Ireland are no strangers to quarter-final pain and Aki was also part of the squad that crashed out at the same stage at the Japan 2019 tournament.
Yet Ireland entered this World Cup as one of the leading contenders to lift the Webb Ellis on the back of a superb run of form leading into the tournament. While the group ultimately fell short, Aki feels they can look back with pride on what they achieved in France.
“Obviously you build towards a World Cup for four years and the amount of work you put in for that competition is huge, and I think as a group we were devastated by the result because of the ambition we had as a group.
We grew as a group and as a team we want to inspire a nation, and the support of the fans in all those five games was incredible.
“When you work so hard for two or three years to get to that stage for the World Cup you obviously feel sad when you don’t achieve what you set out to achieve.
“For myself, I felt disappointed for the long-serving players like Johnny (Sexton) and Earlsy (Keith Earls), and I asked myself what more could I have done.
“But it could easily have been the bounce of a ball. That’s just sport. Sport is cruel, but I certainly think the boys gave a bit of joy to a lot of supporters and a lot of kids. That was the feedback we got and as a sportsperson you want that, to see kids pick up a rugby ball and enjoy the sport.
“But you can’t get away from the fact that we didn’t achieve what we wanted to achieve. We wanted to get to that goal as a group and we certainly believed that we could have got there.”
A new international season is now looming into view. Farrell will name his Six Nations squad next Wednesday, either side of testing fixtures against Lyon and Bristol for Connacht in the Champions Cup. It’s another big couple of weeks for a player who is fully enjoying his rugby again, and remains signed up with Connacht and the IRFU until the end of the 2024/25 season.
“I certainly believe that there’s a lot more, that I can definitely offer more and keep going after things, and achieve goals here and there.
“So, I definitely want to keep giving my best and serve the time until I know it’s my time to finish, and then I’ll put the boots up. But at the moment, I’m feeling good, I’m feeling fresh and looking to achieve more.”
