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'It's honestly unbelievable' - Aki blown away by Lions support in Dublin
BUNDEE AKI'S FIRST experience of a Lions tour was not the full package. The Connacht centre was part of Warren Gatland's squad in South Africa in 2021, but with Covid restrictions meaning the tour was played out in empty stadiums, the games lacked the vibrancy that make these campaigns such memorable occasions.
Last night in Dublin went some way to showing Aki what he can expect in Australia. While the Lions came away from a highly entertaining contest on the end of a defeat to Argentina, the sounds and colour of the night made it one to remember.
'It's unbelievable, it's honestly unbelievable,' Aki said.
'I don't think the fans fully understand how much it means to us. As a group of players, to be able to walk out onto that pitch and see a sea of red is something phenomenal out there.
'I genuinely got goosebumps when I ran outside and saw the sea of red out there. It's unbelievable, it's actually unreal compared to what we had the last time, which was no fans.
'Honestly, thanks for the fans for actually coming out and supporting us.'
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Aki was one of the most popular figures on the night, receiving the loudest cheers when the teams were read out pre-game, before summoning another massive roar when he barged over to score the Lions' first try.
Aki was a popular figure with the home crowd. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo
'The hard work was done by the front five there and the backs were there, I just got the ball and was lucky enough to be able to cross the line. I think Freemo (Tommy Freeman) was giving me a bit of grief, I should have passed it to him.'
Aki was one of the brighter sparks in Andy Farrell's side, but admits his centre partnership with Scotland's Sione Tuipulotu didn't quite click on opening night.
'We all know how Sione is as a player, he's bloody class. The frustrating thing for me was I wasn't able to connect well with him.
'He's an unbelievable player and there's no excuse, we've got to get better as a partnership going forward and whoever it is, Garry (Ringrose), Huw (Jones), Elliot (Daly), as a unit we've got to make sure we gel together and try get that cohesiveness fairly quick because we need to be better.
'But yeah, he's a great man,' Aki continued.
'He speaks out loud, which is good because that's what we need, him being himself and I just feed off him and he feeds off me. So it's brilliant. We've just got to be better at it and keep learning together, the more we grow as a partnership and then as a group, it's going to be better and beneficial for the group.'
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The Lions fly to Perth today, with their next assignment a date with Western Force next Saturday.
'Look, we were obviously disappointed, it wasn't the result we were after. But full credit to Argentina, they're a great side, we won't take that away from them. They played unbelievably well and we have to learn quickly from here and bounce back quickly.
'There's no better players in Europe than this group here that can learn quickly from things that were played out tonight on the pitch.
'I think you can feel the frustration and deflation of the boys in the changing room. But we'll just take it on the chin, whatever the coaches are throwing at us. We'll move on, learn and bounce back against another great outfit in the Western Force.'
