Haka (sports) - Responses and Controversies

Responses and Controversies

The haka, while normally enjoyed by spectators, has been criticised as an unsporting attempt to intimidate the opposition before the match begins. However, most teams accept that the haka is part of rugby's heritage and face up to the All Blacks during its performance, with both teams standing about 10 metres apart. The 2007 Portuguese Rugby team Captain Vasco Uva said of the haka that " faced it, gave it the respect it deserved and it gave us motivation and we knew if it gave them strength, it was also a point of strength for us."

Ignoring the haka is a tactic sometimes used by opposing teams. Famously, the Australian rugby team did a warm up drill well away from the All Blacks during their 1996 Test Match in Wellington. More recently, the Italian rugby team ignored the haka during a 2007 World Cup Pool Match. All Black team member, Keven Mealamu, said later that in his opinion the snub had backfired and provided motivation to his team. Australian back David Campese often ignored the haka, most notably in the 1991 World Cup semi-final, when he chose to practice warm-up drills instead of facing the All-Blacks.

In 1989, as the All Blacks were performing the haka in Landsdowne Road before playing Ireland, the Irish lined up in a tight V formation to facing New Zealand and then edged closer and closer to the All Blacks. By the time the end of the haka came, captain Willie Anderson was only inches from Buck Shelford's face. The Irish did a jubilant cheer and mockingly waved their hands in the air at the conclusion.

One of the best-known responses to the haka occurred during the 1995 Rugby World Cup Final at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Springboks, led by captain Francois Pienaar defiantly faced the haka by striding towards the All Blacks as they performed the dance. By the end of the haka, the Springboks were a metre from the All Blacks team staring them down.

In 1997, Richard Cockerill was disciplined for responding to the haka before the start of an England vs. All Blacks game. Cockerill went toe-to-toe with his opposite number Norm Hewitt while they performed the haka. The referee became so concerned that Hewitt and Cockerill would begin fighting that he pushed Cockerill away from Hewitt. Cockerill went on to say afterwards "I believe that I did the right thing that day," he said. "They were throwing down a challenge and I showed them I was ready to accept it. I'm sure they would rather we did that than walk away." In recent times when the haka is performed against England, it is often drowned out by England fans singing "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot".

In 2005, the All Blacks agreed to a request from the Welsh Rugby Union to repeat the sequence of events from the original match a century before in 1905. This involved the All Blacks performing the haka after "God Defend New Zealand" and before "Hen Wlad fy Nhadau". For the November 2006 test, the Welsh Rugby Union demanded a repeat of this sequence. The All Blacks refused, and instead chose to perform the haka in their changing room before the match. All Blacks captain Richie McCaw defended the decision by stating that the haka was "integral to New Zealand culture and the All Blacks' heritage" and "if the other team wants to mess around, we'll just do the haka in the shed". The crowd reacted negatively to the lack of the haka and then being shown brief footage of the haka on the screens at the Millennium Stadium.

In 2006, the Seven Network TV channel in Australia used digital enhancement to add handbags to video of New Zealand rugby players performing the haka. This was inspired by an incident when former All Black captain Tana Umaga struck Hurricanes team mate Chris Masoe over the head with a woman's handbag after the Super 14 final. All Blacks assistant coach Wayne Smith criticised the advertisement, saying "It is insensitive, I think, to Māori and disrespectful of the All Blacks".

The "Kapa o Pango" haka created controversy when the gesture of a thumb drawn down the throat was interpreted by many observers as implying throat slitting. The All Blacks and Māori interpreted it as drawing the breath of life into the heart and lungs ("hauora"). This led to calls for it to be banned, although a poll conducted in July 2006 showed 60 percent support in New Zealand. During Ireland's tour of New Zealand, the NZRU put the haka on a temporary hiatus, to review its appropriateness, by asking the All Blacks not to perform it against Ireland.

In the 2007 Rugby World Cup quarter-finals, France, after having won the coin toss for the choice of uniforms, famously wore the blue/white/red of the French flag and walked up to within a metre of the haka performance, forming a line of opposition to the performance by the All-Blacks, who were wearing a predominantly silver uniform (as opposed to the traditional all black). France went on to beat the All-Blacks 20-18.

In the 2008 Rugby Autumn Tests, Wales responded to the haka by standing on the pitch refusing to move until the All Blacks did. This resulted in the referee Jonathan Kaplan berating both teams for a full two minutes after the haka had ended until eventually New Zealand captain McCaw instructed his team to break off. After a spirited first half display which ended with Wales leading 9–6, the All Blacks responded positively and won the game 9–29.

Following the final of the 2011 World Cup, the French national team was fined by the IRB for marching to within 10 meters of their All Black opponents during the performance of the haka. To many, this has been viewed as an insult from the IRB. Campbell Live host John Campbell voluntarily offered to pay off the fine by going around the public and asking them to donate.