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Kiwi haka in dressing room
26/11/2006 18:18 - (SA)
London - New Zealand staged their
cherished pre-match haka in the dressing room on Saturday after
a dispute with the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) over the timing of
the traditional war dance.
The crowd at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, gathered to
watch the last match of the All Blacks' European tour against
Wales, were restricted to silent TV replays on the giant
screens, missing out on the real thing.
Before last year's centenary test, New Zealand agreed to a
request to stage the haka in between the national anthems as in
the first game between the teams in 1905.
This year they refused, wanting to return the haka to its
usual position, after the anthems just before kick-off.
"Last year in Wales for the centenary game, they told us
that in 1905, apparently, the haka was done at different time,"
head coach Graham Henry told reporters after his team's 45-10
victory. "But then they asked us to do the same again and we
said no, so it was stalemate."
Captain Richie McCaw added: "It's disappointing for fans but
it's been traditional to do it the way it's been done and there
wasn't a good reason to change it.
"If the other team wants to mess around, we'll just do the
haka in the shed (dressing room). At the end of the day, haka is
about spiritual preparation and we do it for ourselves."
In a statement the WRU said it had consulted two Maori
cultural experts before making its request.
Sour notes
"The WRU took advice from Maori chiefs (kaumatua) before
last year's game and were assured that the haka was performed to
invite a response from the opposing team.
"This year, the NZRU were informed that the formal response
from the Wales team and the Welsh nation would be the Welsh
national anthem Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau.
"Following lengthy discussions with the New Zealand team
management, the Welsh rugby union were saddened to learn that
the All Blacks decided not to perform their haka prior to the
match."
The haka dispute and the decision by English referee David
Pearson to send McCaw to the sin-bin in the second half were the
only sour notes for New Zealand on Saturday as the All Blacks
gave another master class in the virtues of power, pace and
possession.
A try scored by centre Luke McAlister in the third minute,
converted as a matter of course by Daniel Carter, deflated Welsh
expectations before the fans had properly settled into their
seats. The All Blacks romped to a 28-3 halftime lead before
making a series of second-half substitutions.
The try-count eventually finished 5-1 in New Zealand's
favour, with Sitiveni Sivivatu scoring a hat-trick, while
openside flanker Martyn Williams was the only Welsh scorer,
driving over while McCaw was temporarily absent.
Now New Zealand's task is to keep their players fit and
ready for next year's World Cup, a goal which has become
something of a national obsession after the All Blacks's failure
to win the game's ultimate trophy since the inaugural tournament
in 1987.
Henry has succeeded in building a squad with cover in all
positions for his first-choice team.
But the rest of the major world rugby powers will be both
watching New Zealand's progress and plotting their downfall and,
as Carter emphasised last week, the All Blacks cannot afford to
relax.
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Rugby
