Auckland mates become centre of attention for Thomond Park derby

Playing together for Saints Marist in Auckland, Francis Saili and Bundee Aki forged a strong friendship and understanding on and off the field, but on Saturday the two New Zealand centres will be on opposing teams.

Connacht’s Aki will surely face off against Munster’s Saili as the top two in the Pro12 meet at Thomond Park, and though the pair faced each other for Chiefs and the Blues in the Super 15, this is the first time they have met in the Northern Hemisphere.

Saili, the younger of the two by ten months, has two New Zealand caps to his name, and Aki claims Munster are blessed to have his talents at their disposal.

“In Francis Saili, Munster have signed a world class player. He’s played for the All Blacks, he’s doing really well for them, it’s going to be a challenge for myself,” said Aki.

“We’re really good mates but whenever we play against each other it’s always a really tough gig.

“He’s played at the top level with the All Blacks and it’s always a massive challenge for myself because I’ve never been there.

“Playing against Saili it’s always a challenge, I love playing against him because he’s a world class player.

“We played village games together and Sevens games together, other than that in professional rugby it’s always been against each other.

“It’s (based on) where you come from on your island. They’re very interesting, very rough. It’s intense, if you want to watch it they are pretty intense.”

History has not been kind to Connacht at Thomond Park, where they’ve lost every competitive game since November 1986. Injury meant Aki sat out their last Pro12 trip to Limerick – a 22-point defeat in March – but he played in the win at the Sportsground and their pre-season victory in Limerick last August.

Connacht come into this game on an unbeaten seven-match streak, including back-to-back Challenge Cup wins against Enisei-STM and Brive.

Aki thinks the Siberian trip and the psychological challenges it posed are the perfect preparation to set up a raid on Thomond Park.

“Russia was a great experience, and I enjoyed every minute of it. It was bloody cold, that’s for sure. It was a great experience, I enjoyed it.

Meanwhile, Connacht have been boosted ahead of Saturday’s game with the confirmation that scrum-half Kieran Marmion has signed a new two-year contract extension with the province.

Irish international Marmio,n who is now in his fourth season with Connacht, was on the fringes of the Ireland World Cup squad, but missed out to Munster natives Conor Murray and Eoin Reddan.

The new deal will keep the English born and Welsh raised No 9 at the Sportsground until the summer of 2018 at the least.

“I’m delighted to be staying with Connacht Rugby for at least the next two years and I’m looking forward to achieving some big things with the team in that time,” said Marmion.

“I’m really enjoying the rugby we’re playing and the culture we’ve built. It’s a very exciting time to be involved.”