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Haka won't be limited - Cane
By Alex Fisher
New Zealand have no intention of limiting the performances of their famous haka and Australia's Will Genia is delighted.
Reports have suggested some former All Blacks believe the haka has lost its significance and was no longer the intimidating routine it once was, with calls for it to only be used before significant matches.
However, the current crop of internationals insist they will continue to perform the Maori war dance ahead of all Tests, starting with Saturday's Rugby Championship clash with Australia.
"From an All Blacks' point of view we love doing the haka," said flanker Sam Cane.
"We do a light run-through at the captain's run and we bust it out on Saturday, and it's sort of the final touch [of getting ready to go].
"We're well aware of the strong history it has, and it's part of who we are as All Blacks. It's as strong and powerful as ever, in my opinion."
Genia is likely to face the haka at ANZ Stadium this weekend and he is glad New Zealand will not pick when to do the haka in future.
"I love it," he said. "It's just an expression of their culture and people can says it's over-commercialised, but they don't do it for a commercial purpose, they do it because it's something that's important to them in terms of their culture.
"From our perspective, we have an incredible amount of respect for it.
"It's also a spectacle as well. It's great to be a part of. You want to play the All Blacks because they're the best team in the world. But you also want to play them because it's a privilege to face something like that within our game."
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Latest Comments
There is this thing going around against Siya Kolisi where they don't want him to be known as the best national captain ever, so they strike him down in ratings permanently whenever they can. They want McCaw and reckons he is the best captain ever. I disagree.
Just like they refuse to see SA as the best team and some have even said that should the Boks win a third WC in a row, they will still not be the best team ever. Even if they win every game between now and the WC. That is some serious hate coming SA's way.
Everyone forget how the McCaw AB's intimidated refs, was always on the wrong side, played on the ground etc. Things they would never have gotten away with today. They may have a better win ratio, but SA build depth, not caring about rank inbetween WC's until this year.
They weren't as bad inbetween as people claim, because non e of their losses was big ones and they almost never faced the strongest Bok team outside of the WC, allowing countries like France and Ireland to rise to the top unopposed.
Rassie is still at it, building more depth, getting more young stars into the fold. By the time he leaves (I hope never) he will leave a very strong Bok side for the next 15- 20 years. Not everyone will play for 20 years, but each year Rassie acknowledge the young stars and get them involved and ready for international rugby.
Not everyone will make it to the WC, but those 51/52 players will compete for those spots for the WC. They will deliver their best. The future of the Boks is in very safe hands. The only thing that bothers me is Rassie's health. If he can overcome it, rugby looks dark for the rest of the rugby world. He is already the greatest coach in WR history. By the time he retires, he will be the biggest legend any sport has ever seen
Go to commentsWas it? I just brought it up in some of my posts to rub it in that the AB last year nearly put 100 on a top 6N side lol
I agree to be honest. The biggest key to me that they might be jadded was none of them had mom performances, or even as good as their last three games.
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