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Gatland happy for Lions to become 'familiar' with haka
By Christopher Devine
Warren Gatland believes his British and Irish Lions side will benefit from becoming familiar with the haka in a succession of tour games before they take on New Zealand.
Last month, it was announced the Blues, Crusaders and Chiefs would each perform a pre-match haka ahead of their contests against the Lions.
As a result, the visitors will face the traditional war dance for the first time outside of Tests and fixtures against the New Zealand Maori.
"The nice thing is that players are going to get an opportunity to face the haka on more than one occasion," said Gatland.
"For me, the experience, the more times you face up to it, you don't mind it, it's a motivational thing; it's not intimidating.
"And I'm pleased my players will face it more than once. You become familiar with it. It becomes part of regular preparation for a game."
The Lions, who arrived in Auckland on Wednesday, face the New Zealand Provincial Barbarians on Saturday in their first tour match.
That fixture represents the first of 10 for Gatland's men, with the opening Test of three against the All Blacks taking place on June 24.
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Latest Comments
I thought you meant in europe. Because all of the reasons theyre different I wouldn't correlate that to mean for europe, as in french broadcasters pay two or three times as much as the UK or SA broadcasters do, like they do for their league.
With France, it's not just about viewers, they are also paying much more. So no doubt there will be a hit (to the amount the French teams receive for only playing a fraction of it) but they may not care too much as long as the big clubs, the top 8 for example, enter the meaty end, and it wouldn't have the same value to them as the top14 contract/compensation does. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if the 3 separate networks broadcast deals only went to the clubs in their regions as well (that's how SR ended up (unbalanced) I believe).
Go to commentsHis best years were 2018 and he wasn't good enough to win the World Cup in 2023! (Although he was voted as the best player in the world in 2023)
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