Lions star Aki's baby born in car before first Test

BBC News

a day ago

In the aftermath of the British and Irish Lions' third Test against Australia in Sydney, a beaming Bundee Aki was riffing about all sorts of things.The topics included the series win being the greatest achievement of his career, the special bonds forged between the players and how he would love to see Andy Farrell go again as Lions coach in 2029.Then he mentioned something extraordinary, almost in passing - his wife Kayla had given birth to their fifth child in a car on her way to the hospital before the first Test of the series.Asked what he wanted to do now, the New Zealand-born Ireland centre replied: "I want to enjoy my break, my family time."I haven't seen my family for eight weeks. I have a newborn child who I haven't met yet."Pardon?"Yep, a girl. She was born when we were playing in Brisbane, so I haven't met her. Her name is Aine, so I'm looking forward to going and meeting her," he added.Sorry?"Credit to my wife," he went on.Indeed, much credit to Kayla, who has now given birth to the couple's fifth child. The first was born in hospital and the next three at home, while Aine entered the world in the back of a car en route to a hospital in New Zealand, where the rest of the Akis were visiting family, as Bundee and the Lions prepared for the first Test in Brisbane.The remarkable scene happened mid-tour and never got out in public. "She's a powerful woman, a strong woman. If you only knew the story of what happened, it's a funny story in itself," the 35-year-old said.At that point, Aki was faced with a gaggle of journalists desperate for the full story. We have journeyed around Australia for six weeks looking for gold like this and here we were, literally doing the last player interview of the entire trip and the greatest tale of the tour was tumbling out in front of us."Have we got time?" asked the Connacht player. He may as well have asked if we would like a free lunch."It was a good day. I was in the team hotel. I knew we were overdue. The missus calls me and she's like, 'My water hasn't broken but I'm going to the hospital, I'm feeling contractions'."We were getting ready for the team meeting pre-match and she calls back and says she's now on the way to the hospital."Five minutes later, she sends a photo - her water had broken. I was like, 'Cool, OK, are you almost there?' This is like 30 or 40 minutes away from the hospital. I said, 'You'll be all right, Mum is there'."Ten minutes later, she video calls. I was like, 'What's going on?' - and I saw a baby on the video call. She had it in the car on the way to the hospital. They're both strong and healthy, so happy days."
Aki was not in the 23-man squad for the first Test, but after the arrival of Aine he was confident the Lions would get the result they wanted.They duly won 27-19 after blitzing the Wallabies in the first half and secured the series - with Aki now in the side - in Melbourne the following week."I knew it was good 'Juju' [a magical property bringing good luck]. I knew we were going to have a good day," he added."All my kids start with A and my wife loved the name Aine. That's five As in the family - Armani, Adrianna, Andronicus [their one son], Ailbhe, and now Aine."Now that the series is over, the Lions players are scattering this way and that. Some are flying home, some are exploring Australia, others are venturing to different climes in search of a break.No matter how amazing their destinations turn out to be, none of them will be as special as the place Aki is now heading for.