Bunce
Frank Bunce is one of the great centres of the modern era.
Frank Bunce Bio
Frank Bunce is an All Blacks legend who was capped more than 50 times by his country. During his distinguished career, he also represented Western Samoa, Auckland, North Harbour and the Chiefs. Frank Bunce was inducted into the RugbyPass Hall of Fame in 2021.
Born in Auckland, Frank Bunce started his representative career at the Manukau Club. From here, he progressed to Auckland ‘B’ in 1984 and ultimately Auckland in 1986. He then stayed with Auckland until the end of the 1990 season, when he left for North Harbour in search of regular game time.
In his first season with North Harbour, Frank Bunce was selected to play for Western Samoa. He then garnered a great deal of attention at the 1991 Rugby World Cup, when his side reached the quarter-finals. As a result, he came to the attention of New Zealand coach Laurie Mains, who selected him to play for the All Blacks in 1992.
Between 1992 and 1997, Frank Bunce then became a permanent fixture for the All Blacks. In this time, he played 55 games for the side and only missed one game (against Japan in the 1995 Rugby World Cup). At the time of his international retirement, he was the second-oldest All Black ever.
Domestically, Frank Bunce stayed with North Harbour throughout the peak of his career, representing the side between 1991 and 1998. Towards the end of his career, rugby became professional. As a result, he also made appearances for the Chiefs, Castres and Bristol before he retired in 1999.
Following his retirement from the game, Frank Bunce moved into coaching. During his coaching career, he held positions in Italy, New Zealand and Samoa.
