Ex-Ireland stars Tommy Bowe and Donncha O\u2019Callaghan have called on the Connacht management to \u201cput their hands up\u201d after Bundee Aki was visibly \u201cp***** off\u201d during the URC defeat to Leinster.<\/p>\n
Aki was recently famously dropped from the Ireland squad ahead of the upcoming Six Nations following comments directed at the match officials, which resulted in a four-match ban, leaving him ineligible for the opening three rounds of the\u00a0competition.<\/p>\n
Speaking on The Offload podcast, O\u2019Callaghan has claimed that Aki wasn\u2019t completely to blame for his actions, suggesting that head coach Stuart Lancaster and those around him also need to take accountability.<\/p>\n
What caused Bundee Aki\u2019s suspension?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s hard to work out quite where it went wrong for the experienced Aki during the game, but the duo believe that his exclusion from the starting XV had a major impact on his mental state.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest game of the year, a historical moment in Connacht\u2019s<\/a> history. I\u2019m not trying to take away the blame from Bundee. He\u2019s wrong for what he did, but if you put a pitbull on the lead for that long, man,\u201d said O\u2019Callaghan.<\/p>\n \u201cLike, come on, you could see it. He wanted to go out there and leave it all on the pitch. I honestly do [think] management needs to put their hands up a bit as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Bowe agreed, citing a return to the Irish squad<\/a> as possible motivation for his heightened aggression that day.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can sense the frustration in him,\u201d said the former winger.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe way he came onto the pitch, you could tell he was p***** off with it and wanted to make a mark, and obviously he overstepped the border on that.<\/p>\n \u201cHe wants to get himself back into the Irish team, and being on the bench in such a big game is not the way to go.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTen and two, stay clean\u201d<\/p>\n O\u2019Callaghan suggested that if he had a calming presence around him, things could have been different.<\/p>\n Recalling a time in his own early professional days when he and David Humphreys<\/a> were used as late substitutes, the pumped-up youngster was told by the older fly-half: \u2018Stop, go away from me. All we can do in this short window of time is make a f*** up. <\/p>\n \u2018The game isn\u2019t for the winning here; that\u2019s been cast by them, picking the team this way. So you go on, give away about six penalties, and we\u2019ll never see you again.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I wonder, did Bundee need a little bit of that chat? Just an arm around him, going, \u2018listen, fella, I know you\u2019re frustrated. I know today it hasn\u2019t gone the way you\u2019d like it, but just go out here now, ten and two, stay clean.’\u201d<\/p>\n Summing the sad situation up, Bowe concluded: \u201cIt\u2019s a fine line between the competitiveness that makes him such an unbelievable servant, an unbelievable player on the pitch, but sometimes it can boil over.\u201d<\/p>\n Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for world-class coverage you can trust.<\/p>\n