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RUGBY UNION

All Blacks manager rejects haka fines

Sports Oct. 25, 2011 - 03:19AM JST ( 24 )

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24 Comments

-2

hoserfellaOct. 25, 2011 - 10:39AM JST

time to put the Haka to bed. All this talk about culture is BS. Its nothing more than a bunch of white guys pretending to be Maoris giving a collective finger to opponants.
0

BurakuminDesOct. 25, 2011 - 11:01AM JST

Agree with hoserella. If one team is allowed to perform a menacing dance that includes the gesture of throat-slitting (and not be fined) , why shouldn't the other team be allowed to confront them? An absolute joke that fine is - just like the whole organisation of rugby. From now on, teams should turn their backs on the nonsense dance and kick the ball around and do warm ups.
1

grammefridayOct. 25, 2011 - 11:24AM JST

what a load of rubbish this is - why do other teams have to put up with this Haka nonsense??? if the All Blucks want to do the haka they are entitled to but other teams should be allowed to respond to it as they wish provided they stay on their own side of the half way line.... BTW, it would have been nice for the All Blacks to acknowledge the French efforts in the pst game presentations rather than focussing on themselves.... this ongoing NZ arrogance towards other teams is boooring...
2

Al StewartOct. 25, 2011 - 12:19PM JST

Its like MJ's "BAD" video. He did a whole song and dance and the other guys did nothing. That's how it should be!!!!! J/K I dont think the FR team should be fined, that crazy. If you can dance before we fight, then why cant I? It maybe cultural to the country but its not cultural to rugby.
0

shanabelleOct. 25, 2011 - 01:21PM JST

Long live the haka I say！I love seeing them ABs do the haka. It is all part of the show.
-1

soldaveOct. 25, 2011 - 01:23PM JST

hoserfella - How about when the NZ Maori team do a haka?
-2

ExportExpertOct. 25, 2011 - 01:51PM JST

NZ is not the only team who do a pre game ritual. other teams are allowed to confront the haka and it is encouraged but the irb rules say no team can advance beyond their ten meter line, the french did they broke the rule simple.

There is nothing to stop the other team turning their backs and passing the ball around in their own half while the ABs do the haka, it's not enforced that they must stand their and watch it.

Haka stays or the AB's dont play.
-1

hoserfellaOct. 25, 2011 - 02:01PM JST

soldave- Maoris, too. Its a sport born in England anyway. Honestly, I was pretty embarrassed for the white guys who did it. They look ridiculous.
0

LunchboxOct. 25, 2011 - 03:22PM JST

England invented the game, then NZ and South Africa made it famous.

World Champs! Can't stop saying that, feels so good!
0

calm downOct. 25, 2011 - 03:41PM JST

why cant the ABs just run on the field and kick off like the rest of us..do the haka in the dressing room or at home before you come..its a relic which may have worked on Captain Cook,but what are you really going to do,lick your opponent to death ?
2

smithinjapanOct. 25, 2011 - 05:23PM JST

The haka needs to go the way of the hakaba. Put it to bed -- it's undermining and boring, and does not in any way help anyone understand NZ culture when done as such. It's good that the AB manager is rejecting the fines.
-2

ExportExpertOct. 25, 2011 - 07:01PM JST

and does not in any way help anyone understand NZ culture when done as such

It helps NZers understand their culture, have you ever done a haka smithjapan?

You wouldn't understand it not being a NZer anyway.
0

LunchboxOct. 25, 2011 - 07:01PM JST

It's culture, why the need to get rid of it? Your arguments against it are just like saying, 'why do the Hawaiin's give lei to people when they arrive at the airport?. It's dumb, I don't lie it. That's not the way the rest of the world does it, so stop doing it'. If you don't want a lei around your neck, then don't go to Hawaii. But your missing out. That's what culture is all about.

That's the way the pacific nations play rugby, we want to keep it like that, so if other countries don't want it, then don't play with us. All Blacks are the money drawer for World rugby, so no country is going to refrain from playing them over the haka. That's a good thing, because it means the haka will stay, and other pacific nations will also be able to keep their challenges as well. If you are not from a pacific nation, you will probably not understand what it means to us without some effort to understand our culture.

It's part of our culture, whether we are Maori, Polynesian or European or Asian or whatever. Ali Williams (the dude that you see in the front of the haka) is a kiwi, he was born and raised in New Zealand. His skin is white, but that has nothing to do with his culture. Even the whitest primary schools in New Zealand have kapahaka groups, and many schools have pasifika groups nowadays too. Haka is a part of our culture that we are extremely proud of, so why not just try to understand it instead of jumping to negative conclusions about it. Culture is disappearing all over the world because of views like the ones on this board. You don't have to like the haka, but it's immature to say that is is wrong or doesn't have a place.

Culture has no place in sport? Like anthems, and uniforms, and exchanging handshakes etc. Sport was born from culture.

Spend 20 minutes reading about the different haka of the pacific nations sometime, you might even enjoy watching one next time.
-1

ExportExpertOct. 25, 2011 - 07:02PM JST

Disagree on the fine though and I'm all for teams challenging the haka like the french did, just stay in the 10 meter line we have to, and that rule is for a reason otherwise there won't be a game there will be a brawl.
-2

calm downOct. 25, 2011 - 09:28PM JST

Thats fine and extremely commendable of NZers to be treating culture like that Lunchbox keep it up...but why force it on us when our sole purpose in coming to the ground is watching a spot of high class rugby..if I want an education I'll watch the history channel..dont need anthems or pre game entertainment of any sort..just want to see the gladiators rip into each other...so the question is if your kids get it at school and non NZers couldnt give a flying one way or the other why persist ??
-1

DutchduckOct. 25, 2011 - 09:38PM JST

The Hakka is great fun to watch. the rolling of the eyes, the puff puff sounds they make, this article is misleading in to why the French got fined, that`s all.. Now if all countries would do their own warrior dance or rituals, things would become really exciting..imagine the Scots lining up and showing their opponents their arses ha ha golden!
1

smithinjapanOct. 25, 2011 - 09:40PM JST

ExportExpert: "It helps NZers understand their culture, have you ever done a haka smithjapan? You wouldn't understand it not being a NZer anyway."

Please, give it a rest. You make it sound like NZealanders wake up and do a haka before heading off to work. It was fun the first couple of times, then it became a time waster, bottom line. All the other teams had to sit and wait while the All Blacks did their little dance to bore the crowd before the game actually started. I'm glad the French decided to do what they did. It IS gracious of the NZ coach to say he doesn't want the French team to be fined, for sure.

Again, send the haka to the hakaba. Even the vuvuzela during the World Cup was less tiring.
-3

ExportExpertOct. 25, 2011 - 11:10PM JST

You have no idea what your talking about smithjapan it wasnt the coach but the manager who said he didnt want the french team fined.

If the majority of people found the haka boring at the game why does the crowd cheer clap and yell so much in appreciation of it once its been done, the crowd loves it. the minority like yourself dont like it thats fine.

Samoa, fiji and tonga also do a version of the haka, why single us out?

Jealous agin are we?
2

troyinjapanOct. 26, 2011 - 08:54PM JST

I am sorry to step on toes, but I am going to. Any time a team does something confrontational to the other side like the haka then the other team should be able to reply as it sees fit as long as it is not violent. Why give them special status? I don't give a rat's you know what about them being able to do it because of culture. It is not seen that way by the other side. It is confrontational. And personally I would take offense to it as well if I were the opposing team. So, get of it. Fair is fair.
0

troyinjapanOct. 26, 2011 - 08:55PM JST

Personally, I would love to see them fined for every time they have done that to another team. That is disrespectful.
0

BurakuminDesOct. 26, 2011 - 09:39PM JST

Samoa, fiji and tonga also do a version of the haka, why single us out? Jealous agin are we?

@ExportExpert - To the best of my knowledge, Smith is a Canuck. I'm gonna take a wild stab here that Smith and 99.9% of Canadians are not jealous in the slightest that NZ won the Rugby...I doubt more than a handful could care less that it was even on, mate!
-1

nec123aOct. 29, 2011 - 12:07PM JST

I teach and coach rugby in a NZ high school. I can tell you that the haka is an integral part of the game and kapa haka is performed many, many times throughout the year in a myriad of circumstances.

Tremendous ignorance by so many clueless posters here. The ABs and the NZ public OVERWHELMINGLY supported the French response. It was the IRB thaat had an issue and made the fine. The rules stated that teams may not advance (any teams ..any circumstances) beyond their respective 10-metre lines ( was this later shifted to half-way?).

It is not throat-slitting. It is the "drawing of life's breath into the body". Again just ignorance from so many.

The haka is a huge crowd pleaser and is enshrined in rugby history and tradition...go ahead and hate... we just don't care. We'll keep doing as we keep smashing your teams.

The truth is that the Aussies and the Poms even the Boks would dearly love to have a haka and are insanely jealous of it and its power... just more amusement for the World Champions!
0

calm downOct. 29, 2011 - 02:16PM JST

no nec you dont get it,any criticism aimed at the Abs is twisted into hateful responses from you..enough already get some sportsmanship about you and a world image rather than a small town 'us against the world'..tiresome.Poor loser and a poorer winner..
2

ExportExpertOct. 30, 2011 - 10:33AM JST

GO THE ALL BLACKS ! and THE HAKA !

We dont care what any aussie dingo loser thinks.