Frank Eneri Bunce (born 4 February 1962) is a retired New Zealand

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

player and coach. He played international rugby for both

Western Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in the 1990s, appearing in the

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

and

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

World Cups A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

. He played in four international matches for

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

and 55 for New Zealand (the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

Biography

Bunce was born in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

, New Zealand and attended Mangere College. He has two daughters, Samantha and Victoria, and three sons, Chance, Jordan and Joshua. He is the great nephew of Sir

Robert Rex Sir Robert Richmond Rex (25 January 190912 December 1992) was the first Premier of the Pacific island state of Niue. Early life and family Rex was born to parents Leslie Lucas Richmond Rex, a European trader on Niue, and Fisimonomono Tufaina ...

, the premier of

Niue Niue (, ; niu, Niuē) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Zealand. Niue's land area is about and its population, predominantly Polynesian, was about 1,600 in 2016. Niue is located in a triangle between Tong ...

. He wrote an autobiography, ''Frank Confessions'', published in 1998, and contributed to the book ''Rugby Skills, Tactics and Rules'' with Tony Williams, published in 2008.

Playing career

Bunce began his representative career at the Manukau club, and progressed to Auckland B in 1984 and then

in 1986, the same year he was selected for the North Island team. He remained with Auckland until 1990, not usually a first choice player, although he did play in the trial for the All Blacks in 1988. In 1991 he moved to North Harbour. Though mainly of

an descent, he was selected to play for

, receiving international attention at the 1991 World Cup where the Samoan team reached the quarter-finals. These performances brought him to the attention of New Zealand coach

Laurie Mains Laurence William Mains (born 16 February 1946) is a former rugby union footballer and coach who represented New Zealand. Mains' representative career started when he first played for Otago in 1967. He made his All Blacks début in 1971, agains ...

who selected him to play for the All Blacks in 1992. Bunce became a regular feature of the All Black backline, missing only one game (against Japan at the 1995 World Cup) until his last game on 6 December 1997 against England in London. He played for New Zealand in the NZRU's centenary games against a

World XV A World XV is a rugby union team organised on an unofficial, ''ad hoc'' basis and typically composed of invited players from various countries. Several World XVs have been arranged by various bodies, often to take part in celebration and testimoni ...

, against the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

in their 1993 tour, in the

1995 Rugby World Cup Final The 1995 Rugby World Cup Final was the final match of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, played in South Africa. The match was played at Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg on 24 June 1995 between the host nation, South Africa, and New Zealand. South Afri ...

, the first two Tri Nations tournaments and the victorious series win over

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

in 1996. He captained New Zealand once in a non-test game, and also played for New Zealand at the first Sevens World Cup in 1993. He scored 20 international tries (96 points) for New Zealand, and one try (4 points) for Samoa. He played for the Chiefs until 1998, and played one season for

Castres Castres (; ''Castras'' in the Languedocian dialect of Occitan) is the sole subprefecture of the Tarn department in the Occitanie region in Southern France. It lies in the former province of Languedoc, although not in the former region of Lan ...

in France, and one season for

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

in England before retiring in 1999. At the close of his international career he was 35 years and 305 days old, a ripe old age for an international rugby player. He was the second-oldest All Black ever and New Zealand's most capped test centre (outside centre) at the time, and oldest back.

Conrad Smith Conrad Gerard Smith (born 12 October 1981) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player, who played predominantly at centre. He captained the Hurricanes in Super Rugby, and played for New Zealand from 2004 until 2015. He was a key me ...

has the most caps as an All Black outside centre overall (85 - as at 22.05.15) Though best known as an excellent defensive player, he was also a strong attacking player in his own right. Bunce's powerful running and strength when tackled allowed the backs outside him to shine.

Coaching career

Bunce coached in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

from 2001 to 2003, was Auckland's defence coach in 2004 and served as a technical advisor to Samoa in 2005. He is a position-specific coach for the International Rugby Academy in New Zealand.

Personal life

As of 2 November 2020, he is a father of 6, with the oldest at 34, and the youngest less than a year old. He is married with his second wife, Jessica Worchel Bunce.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bunce, Frank 1962 births New Zealand rugby union coaches New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand people of Niuean descent New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent New Zealand international rugby union players Samoa international rugby union players North Harbour rugby union players Rugby union centres Living people Rugby union players from Auckland People from Māngere