‘Funny story' – Bundee Aki reveals chaotic circumstances around wife giving birth before Lions played Australia
BUNDEE Aki revealed he missed the birth of his fifth child as he prepared to face Australia in the Lions first Test match.
In the lead up to the Lions 27-19 opening Test victory over the Wallabies, there was a new addition to the Aki family.
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The Lions won their first series in 12 years when they defeated the Wallabies in the first two Test matches
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The conditions were deplorable for the Lions third Test match against Australia
Bundee's wife Kayla was in New Zealand with family when she got in touch to say she was ready to give birth.
Ireland's 2024 players' player of the year's fifth child Aine Aki was born in a car on the way to the hospital, the day of her dad's second ever Lions Test appearance.
Bundee told the 'funny story' after the Lions final Test match against Australia saying: "If you only knew the story of what happened, it's a funny story in itself.
"I was in the hotel. I knew we were overdue. The missus calls me and she's like, 'Water hasn't broke but I'm going to the hospital, I'm feeling contractions.'
"She goes to the hospital, we're getting ready for the team meeting pre-match, and then she calls me and says she's on the way to the hospital, so I said, 'Fine, be safe.'
"Five minutes later, she sends a photo, her water broke. I was like, 'Cool, OK, are you almost there?'
"This is like 30 or 40 minutes away from the hospital, so I said, 'You'll be alright, Mum is there.'
"Ten minutes later, she video calls me and I was like, 'Shit, what's going on?'.
"I saw a baby on the video call, so she had it in the car on the way to the hospital."
The Connacht centre has credited his wife for taking the whole ordeal in her stride despite the difficulty of it all.
Australia and Lions rugby stars are forced off the pitch mid-game due to threat of lightning
The Ireland star added: "Credit to my wife. She's a powerful woman, a strong woman."
Bundee believed the birth of his fifth child brought good luck to the Lions who went on to win the series in the second Test.
The 35-year-old added: "I knew it was good Juju, I knew it was good Juju. So I knew we were going to have a good day.
"All my kids start with A. So my wife loved the name Aine. That's five As in the family. Armani, Adrianna, Andronicus, Ailbhe, Aine."
Andy Farrell's side did however fail to complete the clean sweep as they lost the final Test match 22-12.
A poor Lions performance has not disheartened the Auckland-born star, as he has the chance now to meet his newest daughter Aine.
'I wasn't great. It was a poor game but you have those days and you have to live with it. We won the series and that's all we came for.
'Now, I want to enjoy my break. I haven't seen my family for eight weeks. I have a newborn child I haven't met yet.'
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