The All Blacks haka is one of the best spectacles in sport, the production, the intensity and the overall theatre of it makes it the perfect complement to the pregame.
The problem I have though is that it’s given way too much respect by opposing nations, especially this one.
Sure rugby union here needs all the help it can get and the display is one of the biggest drawing points of a Bledisloe Cup match.
Unless you are Fiji, Samoa or Tonga, you have to just stand there and take it, that’s it, no response, no creativity or free thought allowed.
That’s what made the Ireland quarter-final and the England semi-final so spectacular is that both sides actually offered some kind of response.
World Rugby did their part to add to the theatre, pumping up the English “inverted V” response over and over again… then deciding to FINE THEM for breaching a “cultural ritual protocol”.
It’s not like they ran up to them and tried to engage in some pregame fisticuffs, that’s over the line but “ooh they stood a little bit too close” is not worth the outrage and subsequent discipline.
Was anyone really hurt by England standing a little bit over the halfway line or was it a fantastic sight?
It’s an intimidation tactic (and an awesome one at that) so why not allow some nations to be a bit creative with how they respond to said tactic.
Some of rugby’s best images have come from that creativity, remember Tonga starting their Sipi Tau in the middle of the haka in the 2003 World Cup?
What about the Wallabies staring them down at the conclusion of the Brisbane Bledisloe Cup match in 2011 or the French arrow in the 2011 Final?
Play into the theatre of it all and let teams engage in some sort of response, within reason of course.
BREAKING: England rugby team have been fined by World Rugby for the V-shaped response to New Zealand’s Haka. https://t.co/LobpdHnIdj pic.twitter.com/ii1O4PPAq2
— SPORTbible (@sportbible) October 29, 2019
Not to go all Greg Martin but if I were in charge of stadium production in next year’s Bledisloe Tests, I’d take the microphones away from the All Blacks and let them perform it without any sort of audio boost.
If the Wallabies so choose they can just stand there as always, 20 metres away taking it in or try their own creative formation to accept the challenge, just don’t think about going all Willie Mason in 2006 and try winking & blowing kisses.
Then if you’re World Rugby, just lighten up, it’s the spectacle of it all we love and let’s be honest, who doesn’t love seeing someone stand up to the big boy
The thoughts of James Caughlin are not necessarily those of Neds and its parent company, GVC Australia.
Our in-house profit prophet is headed to the iconic central Victorian town of Bendigo (where there is still an all-you-can-eat Pizza Hut) for Bendigo Cup Day.
Let’s just say his daily best is a relative of Sandra.
This outstanding point of the season that boasts a country cup nearly every day of the week continues with an open edition of the Group 3 Bendigo Cup (2400m) on Wednesday.
Check out the Profit Prophet's 2019 Bendigo Cup tips below!
— Neds (@NedsAus) October 29, 2019
Fixture leaks are all the rage in the AFL at the moment but the entire AFLW draw was released yesterday.
Clubs are coming up with unique ways of announcing their line ups for the season and this from the Melbourne AFLW social team is next level.
https://twitter.com/MelbourneAFLW/status/1188995419201687553?s=20