Aviva is the proud sponsor of the home of Irish Rugby, Aviva Stadium – where fans can cheer on their heroes from the best seat in the house. Having previously visited Peter O’Mahony to see the best seat in his house, the second instalment in the series meant a trip to discover the favourite spot of another of the game’s biggest stars: Bundee Aki.
Born and raised in New Zealand, the affable centre didn’t take long in attaining iconic status after arriving on Irish shores a decade ago. Extraordinary performances in the green jersey last season saw him recently named as Guinness Rugby Writers Player of the Year not forgetting his nomination for World Rugby Men's 15s Player of the Year award. With another Guinness Six Nations campaign just around the corner, he’ll once again be a key part of Ireland’s quest for silverware as they look to repeat last year’s Grand Slam success.
Of course, it’s not just within Andy Farrell’s side that he’s cemented a place; he’s also well and truly become one of Galway’s most beloved adopted sons. Home for Bundee, along with his wife and children, is now a beautiful house just outside the city of the tribes in Oranmore – and he very kindly opened his doors to invite us for a look around!
There, Bundee discussed the challenge of balancing sport and family, the importance of building camaraderie on and off the field, as well as how his love of sparking up the barbecue stands up to the less-than-favourable Irish conditions. And, of course, gave us the lowdown on the best seat in his house…where downtime is all about playing a very different type of game!