All Blacks boss Robertson hits back at Joe Marler's haka comments

New Zealand head coach Scott Robertson has hit back at Joe Marler after the England prop called for the haka to be scrapped. Marler baited the All Blacks ahead of Saturday’s autumn opener at Allianz Stadium by writing on the social media site X on Tuesday night that “the haka needs binning. It’s ridiculous”.

Robertson believes the 34-year-old, who left the England camp on Monday for personal reasons, could have chosen his words more carefully. “I know Joe. I wonder if he wishes he could have articulated himself better on that,” Robertson said at New Zealand’s team announcement on Thursday.

“It’s a great tradition of rugby that all Pacific nations do before to honour where they come from. It means a lot to us. The crowd enjoy it.”

As part of the same social media post, Marler added: “It’s only any good when teams actually front it with some sort of reply. Like the league boys did last week.”

The Harlequins front row was referencing England rugby league player Mikey Lewis, who went head-to-head with Samoa’s Gordon Chan Kum Tong when the war dance was being performed before their clash in Wigan on Sunday.

Eddie Jones’ England took on the haka before their stunning 2019 Rugby World Cup semi-final victory over New Zealand by their players adopting a V-shape formation. Robertson described it as an “awesome” response.

“It had a clear meaning and it was respectfully done. It’s great, it’s what we are all about. The response has got to be meaningful and respectful. Whatever they come up with on Saturday we’ll face,” he said.

Marler’s comments provoked a backlash in New Zealand including from David Seymour, leader of the political party ACT which is part of the coalition government. “I love the haka. It wouldn’t be the All Blacks if they didn’t do the haka,” Seymour told reporters outside Parliament.

“Who is this Joe Marler guy? I’ve never heard of him. An English prop? Well in my experience there are very few props with high IQ. It could be something in that area.”

Mana Epiha, a cultural advisor who works in Maori broadcasting, claimed Marler was “a little bit lost”. “If he doesn’t like it, that is probably a good thing. That is not for people to like, it’s for people to tremble in their boots,” Epiha told reporters. “It’s definitely something that brings about beautiful feelings of our ancestors’ warrior spirits.”