Haka Performed Behind Closed Doors

[Rumrunner]

Haka Performed Behind Closed Doors

New Zealand took the unprecedented step of performing the haka in their changing room after accusing the Welsh Rugby Union of trying to "mess around" with its traditions.
The WRU had requested New Zealand perform the haka in between the national anthems, rather than just before kick-off.

Wales had wanted their own national anthem, Hen Wlad fy Nhadau, to be their official response to the challenge.

Read on:- http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/25112006/4/haka-performed-behind-closed-doors.html

A great shame. Yet another home goal by the WRU

 

[the_matelot]

Well done WRU.....bunch of muppets

 

[meiktilaman]

The welsh should have done their own version after and called it the sheepshagga!!

 

[Auld-Yin]

And this tactic from the WRU really worked - didn't it - NOT.

 

[the_matelot]

The welsh should have done their own version after and called it the sheepshagga!!

It still wouldn't have stopped them getting a thrashing!

 

[paveway_3]

The WRU are and have been killing Welsh Rugby for years.Its bad enough all of the ''Hype'' that Wales could beat the AB's but to have this Haka refusal as well.It makes the Welsh rugby loving public look daft.

 

[DrStealth]

over the last few years the haka has started to be viewed as 'provocative and a bit insulting' by the oposition players and supporters,
its ment to be nothing of the sort.
personaly i didnt like the way they changed it the other year from the "Ka Mate", to the "Kapa o Pango" with that 'throat slitting' gesture at the end. it has a radically different meaning within Māori culture and haka traditions, specifically the drawing of vital energy into the heart and lungs, and it was bound to be misinterpreted.

In 1905 New Zealand made their first tour of Britain. This was the first time the team were referred to as the All Blacks and this particular team also became known as the 'Originals'. It is uncertain whether they performed a haka before every match, but they at least performed "Ka Mate" before their first test, against Scotland, and before the match against Wales. The Welsh crowd, led by the Welsh team, responded by singing the Welsh national anthem.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haka_of_the_All_Blacks

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haka

"Ka Mate"
Leader: Ringa pakia! Slap the hands against the thighs!
Uma tiraha! Puff out the chest!
Turi whatia! Bend the knees!
Hope whai ake! Let the hip follow!
Waewae takahia kia kino! Stamp the feet as hard as you can!

Leader: Ka mate, ka mate ’Tis death, ‘tis death (or: I may die)
Team: Ka ora, ka ora ’Tis life, ‘tis life (or: I may live)
Leader: Ka mate, ka mate ’Tis death, ‘tis death
Team: Ka ora, ka ora ’ Tis life, ‘tis life
All: Tēnei te tangata pūhuruhuru This the hairy man that stands here...
Nāna nei i tiki mai whakawhiti te rā …who brought the sun and caused it to shine
Ā upane, ka upane A step upward, another step upward
Ā upane, ka upane A step upward, another step upward
Whiti te rā, hī! The sun shines!


"Kapa o Pango"
Kapa o Pango kia whakawhenua au i ahau! All Blacks, let me become one with the land
Hī aue, hī!
Ko Aotearoa e ngunguru nei! This is our land that rumbles
Au, au, aue hā! It’s my time! It’s my moment!
Ko Kapa o Pango e ngunguru nei! This defines us as the All Blacks
Au, au, aue hā! It’s my time! It’s my moment!
I āhahā!
Ka tū te ihiihi Our dominance
Ka tū te wanawana Our supremacy will triumph
Ki runga ki te rangi e tū iho nei, tū iho nei, hī! And be placed on high
Ponga rā! Silver fern!
Kapa o Pango, aue hī! All Blacks!
Ponga rā! Silver fern!
Kapa o Pango, aue hī, hā! All Blacks!


i still get a giggle watching the skinny white boys do it when i'm over there though.

 

[OldRedCap]

I seem to remember that a while ago someone in an opposing team made some sort of action during the haka that was seriously taken as an insult. If the item has that much significance, it has no place in a body contact sport where men have been disabled for life when things go beyond handbags. Maybe a quiet word with NZ authority that we reserve the right to do our own cabaret an it is not insulting when we do. We could then have a silly walk sort of thing and all would see that both performances are just in fun. Really, there is enough bullshine at the start of internationals anyway - I pay and go to see the game.

 

[the_guru]

I think the crowd looks forwards to a Haka. It is a great spectacle. And the WRU are a bunch of c0cks.

 

[meiktilaman]

The welsh should have done their own version after and called it the sheepshagga!!

It still wouldn't have stopped them getting a thrashing!

No probalby not but it would have been funny to watch!! Mehtinks the WRU taking things a tad to seriously!

 

[R an R]

This world really has gone nuts.. Watching the Haka performed always fills me with pride, I couldn't begin to imagine having the honour to pull on the black jersey, perform the Haka and represent my country.. WRU should realise this was a bad move indeed.

 

[Baldrick66]

Seems the Irish RFU have a solution to this issue already in hand

 

[Baldrick66]

Or for those with IGS Accounts....................

Press Release
International Rugby Board (IRB) Rugby World Cup 2007
Following complaints to the IRB about the All Blacks being allowed to motivate themselves by performing the ‘Haka’ before their games, other nations were asked to suggest pre-match rituals of their own.The IRB Rugby World Cup 2007 Organizing Committee has now agreed to the following pre-match displays:

1)The England team will chat about the weather, wave hankies in the air and attach bells to their ankles before moaning about
how they invented the game and gave it to the world, but no one appreciates them.
2)The Scotland team will chant “You lookin’ at me Jimmy?” before each of them smash a bottle of beer over their opponents’ heads.
3) The Ireland team will split into two, with the Southern half performing a Riverdance, while the Northerners march the Traditional route from their dressing room to the pitch, via their opponents dressing room.
4) Unfortunately the Committee was unable to accept the Welsh proposal to form a choir and sing Tom Jones’“It’s Not Unusual”.
5) Argentina will unexpectedly invade a small part of opposition territory, claim it as their own “Las In-Goals-Areas” and have to be forcibly removed by the match stewards.
6) Two members of the South African team will claim to be more important than the other 13 whom they will imprison between the posts.These two will then go about selecting the best parts of the pitch to settle on and claim that they have been there for centuries.
7) The Americans will not attend until almost full time. In future years they will amend the records to show that they were in fact the most important team in the tournament and Hollywood will make a blockbuster film called ‘Saving Flanker Ryan’.
Five of the Canadian team will sing La Marseillaise and hold the rest of the team to ransom.
9) The Italian team will arrive in Armani gear, sexually harass the female officials and then prepare pasta dishes, which they will fl og to the crowd for a fortune.
10) The Japanese will shock fans buy demonstrating how to capture a whale for scientific research buy harpooning an opposition prop.
11) The French won’t have a pre-match display and will simply hide in fear in the dressing room for the whole match.
12) The Australians will have a BBQ on their side of the field and invite the opposition over before the game. The food and alcohol will be in abundance and by the start of the game no-one will remember what they came to the stadium for. After some streaking, the singing of dirty songs and the occasional chunder everyone will go home thoroughly convinced it was a bloody good night.
13) The Moroccan team will quietly pray during the first half and then launch suicide attacks against the opposition after the break. Unfortunately, this strategy works well for the first game only, after which Morocco is forced to withdraw from the Rugby World Cup due to lack of players.
14) Samoa will prepare a huge feast in the middle of the pitch by digging a large hole and filling it with burning embers. They invite
the opposition over by saying, “We’d like to have you for dinner”. It’s only when the opposition get to the pit that they realize there is no meat and that they are the dinner!

Hopefully, with these policies now in place, further problems is this area of the game should cease to exists.

Regards,

Syd Miller
IRB Chairman
THE INTERNATIONAL RUGBY BOARD
Huguenot House 35-38 St Stephen’s Green Dublin 2 Ireland
Tel: 00 353 1 240 9200 • FAX: 00 353 1 240 9201

 

[A_Mech]

As good as it is to see the tradition of the Hake, why do home teams let the Kiwis take the advantage by performing their Haka just before kick-off. Let them do it if they want, but not just before kick-off. The home team should have home advantage not the visiting kiwis.
How many other teams are allowed to perform 2 songs before kick-off? I know 1 northern hemisphere side that does, and they are both together (Ireland)
The Haka should be allowed to continue, but make them do it before the National Anthems, or bin the National Anthem of the country that wants to do a Haka or War dance.
I have to say that even though the WRU may appear to be nuggets to some, they stood up for their squad and it back fired. I agree with the thought that New Zealand should not be allowed to psyche themselves up just before kick off when playing away from home. Let them do what they want at home.
Contraversial to some, but i don't mean to appear to be, i just believe that the home team should be allowed to keep the advantage.

 

[Jacob1650]

I'm always amazed that no one replies to the challenge of the Haka.

I'd like to see an opposing team front them up and laugh in their faces, or turn and drop their shorts.

If you are going to have a ritualistic challenge, expect to have it challenged.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not criticising the Haka, I just wish it could be responded to in kind. I think the idea of a mass singing of the Welsh anthem in response was a fair one. I'm glad feathers were fuffled.

 

[Commander_Vimes]

I'm always amazed that no one replies to the challenge of the Haka.

I'd like to see an opposing team front them up and laugh in their faces, or turn and drop their shorts.

If you are going to have a ritualistic challenge, expect to have it challenged.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not criticising the Haka, I just wish it could be responded to in kind. I think the idea of a mass singing of the Welsh anthem in response was a fair one. I'm glad feathers were fuffled.

IIRC the Irish did it to them once, nearly caused a riot when the NZ skipper was on the receiving end of a headbutt just before the end of the haka.

 

[Rumrunner]

I'm always amazed that no one replies to the challenge of the Haka.

I'd like to see an opposing team front them up and laugh in their faces, or turn and drop their shorts.

If you are going to have a ritualistic challenge, expect to have it challenged.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not criticising the Haka, I just wish it could be responded to in kind. I think the idea of a mass singing of the Welsh anthem in response was a fair one. I'm glad feathers were fuffled.

The big mistake that the WRU made was not telling Wales (the rugby population), just what they had asked of the All Blacks. Had they done so in Oct, when it is said that they had asked the All Blacks to agree with the “reply i.e.the national Anthem” I’m sure that Wales would have been behind them 100%. It would have left the All Blacks flat footed. As it was, Henry was able to stage a protest that initially it would seem, put them in good light and won a PR battle!

I have my own reservations about the Haka. It really doesn’t matter how it is responded to it, the All Blacks will take offence. Turn your back as England did and that is wrong. March up and face them down and that is wrong. Throw a blade of grass in the air and expect at the very least to suffer a spear tackle and a possibility broken neck! I’m told, and I’m not sure if it is correct, that it is down to the home nation if indeed they can perform it at all?

Perhaps, we indulge them too much!

 

[Jacob1650]

My avatar would suggest I love a bit of ceremonial and ritual. In a full contact sport like Rugby Union a challenge should be made and responded to. I'd like to see more ''response''.

I personally thought the sight of them doing their ritualistic dance indoors looked quite pathetic.

 

[pomps]

what a load of pish and poop.
having seen the haka done at twickers, it should be kept right were it is always done.... (bloody isits)
WRU - bunch of poo sniffers!

 

[meiktilaman]

I'm always amazed that no one replies to the challenge of the Haka.

I'd like to see an opposing team front them up and laugh in their faces, or turn and drop their shorts.

If you are going to have a ritualistic challenge, expect to have it challenged.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not criticising the Haka, I just wish it could be responded to in kind. I think the idea of a mass singing of the Welsh anthem in response was a fair one. I'm glad feathers were fuffled.

Correct me if I'm wrong but did England not do that once and stand just inside their own half a feet from the halway line and eyeball the Kiwis all the way thru the Haka?

Personally a few Maoris sticking that tongue out at me wouldnt really put me off my game! Unless of course they had those big wooden thumping sticks they did Captain Cook in with!