Schoolboy Bundee was a class act
Former Kiwi classmates remember Ireland’s player of the tournament as a fun-loving, charismatic character who always put family first
NEW ZEALAND-born Ireland star Bundee Aki was a ‘lovable rogue’ who was never far from ‘mischief’ in school, his old teachers and pals told the Irish Mail on Sunday.
And far from being shunned by his community for playing for Ireland over the All Blacks, the Connacht centre remains a hero for locals in the Auckland suburb of Manurewa, who saw last night’s quarter final as a ‘win-win’ whatever the result.
Pete Jones, who is principal at Manurewa High School and was Aki’s PE teacher for a year, said Bundee was an ‘unbelievably, outstandingly talented sportsman’ across all sports.
‘In fact, Bundee used to get involved in everything, because the more he got involved in, the less he had to be in a classroom,’ Mr Jones told the MoS.
The lively youngster ‘even got involved in drama’, featuring in the cast and choir of a school production in his final year.
‘That boy can sing – and he can dance! He’s multi-talented, and he just loved performing. He loves
‘He’s multi-talented... loves performing’
being in front of a crowd in a positive way – as you guys have seen.’
Mr Jones’s teaching colleague, Maggie Silva, who has been friends with Aki since primary school, disagrees slightly that he was good at everything.
‘Volleyball definitely wasn’t his strong suit,’ she laughed. ‘Field sports was his forte.’
Ms Silva said the young Bundee was ‘forever eating my lunch’ in primary school and was ‘cheeky, mischievous, but you couldn’t stay mad at him because he had that charismatic character and a smile that would have you forget what you were mad about.
‘It was like that with teachers as well,’ she added. ‘He could grease his way out of anything.’
Ms Silva said another colleague remembered a time he ‘conned’ his way to a waka ama (a Maori rowing sport) event one year as a volunteer.
‘He was always willing to help with sport, [Silva’s colleague] said, even though he spent five days getting girls’ numbers in the loading bay!’
Another teacher, Tim Randle, dug out a school report card of the young Fua Leiofi Bundellu (‘Bundee’ is a nickname).
‘Bundellu has shown significant improvement in his attitude towards classwork, this is pleasing to note,’ he wrote. ‘Bundellu has a bright personality, but must ensure he doesn’t distract others from their work.’
There were ‘obvious signs of charisma and leadership on top of sporting prowess’, Mr Randle said, adding: ‘That sums him up pretty well.’
‘I guess if you wanted to describe Bundee, he was a lovable rogue,’ Mr Jones said. ‘So he often got himself into mischief. He didn’t like being confined by the four walls of a classroom, but he had a beautiful personality.
‘He was a teenager when I knew him and let’s face it, teenagers are the most volatile breed known to man, so they don’t always make the right calls. But he stood out even from a really early age and on the sports field he was outstanding.’
Another schoolmate, Tim Nanai-Williams, had similar sporting prowess and now plays for Samoa.
Mr Jones, who is English but has lived in New Zealand since 2006, said ‘nobody’ sees Aki as a traitor for donning the green.
Aki joined Connacht in 2014, having never represented the All Blacks or Samoa, where his parents come from, and became eligible to play for Ireland through the residency rule after he had lived here for three years.
‘So many of the community and we at the school see this weekend as a win-win,’ Mr Jones said.
‘Everybody totally understands and supports the decisions he made, and you’ve got to put it into context as well: Manurewa is a low socioeconomic community. It’s tough.
‘It was a massive decision for him to leave, and leaving family for Maori and Pacific kids is a huge decision. But they do that with a really strong set of values; they do that because they want to continue supporting their families. And that
was a big part of his call to make the move to Ireland.
‘He knew where he was at the time. He was just behind the midfield with the All Blacks, which at the time was really, really strong. So he made a call; he knew the opportunity to come to Ireland would mean that financially, if he was successful, he would be able to support his family for many, many years.’ Aki has four children with his wife Kayla – he brought the tots onto the pitch after his 50th cap against South Africa three weeks ago.
And his siblings – he is the second of six children – and extended family are often photographed at Ireland games too.
In 2011, the rising star took a year out from rugby to work as a bank teller, ‘so he could earn money and support his family’, Mr Jones said.
‘And I would guess that he gives a significant amount of what he earns to his wider family and that’s a beautiful value set.’
His old PE teacher said there ‘might be others from more affluent areas who might give a different view’ of Aki’s lining out for Ireland.
‘But that’s something really special about our community. They have this “tall poppy syndrome” saying in New Zealand – people who do really well then get chopped down.
‘But in our community that’s not the case; they get celebrated. He uses his success to celebrate others as well in turn, and set an example. ‘He’s an amazing role model. We’re just so proud of him.’
Bundee ‘epitomises’ a number of the values his old school preach, Mr Jones said. Respect, excellence, teamwork and learning are part of the school’s mantra, while they encourage pupils to be ‘happy, confident and proud’.
‘You’re blessed that you’ve got him,’ he said. ‘We’re happy to have been a part of that, and that he’s taken the Manurewa magic over to you guys. And we’re super proud.’