Instead, he opted for brutal honesty when asked for his memories of the last time Otago played in the NPC final.
"That is very scary. And I’ve got a poor memory at the best of times, let alone 20 years ago."
Bambry, now the assistant coach, was on the bench in 2005 when an Otago team riding a wave of momentum made it to the final at Eden Park.
Nick Evans was ahead of him as the starting first five, Chris Smylie was having a breakthrough season at halfback, Anton Oliver and Carl Hayman anchored a powerful front row and Craig Newby, Josh Blackie and Tom Donnelly were workhorses in the pack.
Otago qualified for the final with a spectacular 37-22 semifinal win over Canterbury in Christchurch — perhaps not a bad omen for this Saturday’s final — before being beaten 39-11 by Auckland in the final.
"To be honest, I recall the semifinal more than the final because we managed to knock over a very good Canterbury side in Christchurch," Bambry said.
"That was a pretty fond memory that I’ve held on to, for sure. But, yeah, I think we ran into a pretty red-hot Auckland side in that final and weren’t quite able to finish the season how we wanted. Hopefully we can go one step further this weekend."
There are parallels to how the modern-day men are delighting the province, symbolised by the crowd of nearly 11,000 fans — almost unthinkable for an NPC game these days — they attracted for their semifinal win over Bay of Plenty.
"When you start winning, you engage your people more, particularly the way that you’re trying to play the game and play a style that excites people," Bambry said.
"That’s what we’ve really set out to do this year. We marked that down as an objective from day one in preseason. And I think Friday night’s crowd was a real measure of that.
"I feel this has been brewing for a while. We actually played some pretty good football last year, and this year we’ve just been able to consistently put it out on the park.
"There’s been a big difference in the experience of guys that have been here now for three or four years, and that’s really starting to pay dividends for us.
"And then, obviously we’ve got a lovely mix of new boys that have come in. So we’ve got real balance across our group in terms of excitement and experience, and that’s blended together to create a pretty good product."
Otago will take confidence but no complacency with them to Christchurch when they play Canterbury in the final on Saturday afternoon.
They relished the opportunity to deliver a sparkling performance in their last game at home — and treasured the memory of taking the Ranfurly Shield off Canterbury earlier this season — but the slate was clean before the final.
"We know and trust our game, and look forward to one more opportunity to be together on Saturday."
Revered former coach Tony Gilbert, who guided the last Otago team to win the NPC title in 1998, and the great Ben Smith spoke to the team yesterday.
"It was beautiful," Bambry said.
"Two of the most respected men in the province around footy . . . the boys loved having them in.
"A big part of our culture this year has been reconnecting with our ex-players, whether that was from the 1998 team or before that. It’s been really special to reconnect with them and ensure that our connection is never lost."
Finn Hurley, just back after a long injury layoff, was nursing a rolled ankle after the semifinal but is likely to be available for the final.
Centre Josh Timu continues to be monitored after missing the Bay of Plenty game, but star first five Cameron Millar is good to go after copping an elbow in the eye.
Bambry, a former first five himself, has been overjoyed to see Millar playing at his best for Otago after having a challenging season with the Highlanders.
"When you work as hard as he does, eventually you’re going to get back to where your talent truly is, and he’s showing that.
"His touches on the ball . . . he’s starting to influence that way rather than just what he does for us in the areas of the fields he put us in. He’s really added to his toolkit this year."
