Is the Haka dead? (rugby fans)

[farquah 0]

Press Release

 

International Rugby Board (IRB) Rugby World Cup 2007

 

Following complaints to the IRB about the All Blacks being allowed to motivate themselves by performing the ‘Haka’ before their games,

other nations were asked to suggest pre-match rituals of their own. The IRB Rugby World Cup 2007 Organizing Committee has now agreed

to the following pre-match displays:

 

 

1) The England team will chat about the weather, wave hankies in the air and attach bells to their ankles before moaning about

how they invented the game and gave it to the world, but no one appreciates them.

2) The Scotland team will chant “You lookin’ at me Jimmy?†before each of them smash a bottle of beer over their opponents’ heads.

3) The Ireland team will split into two, with the Southern half performing a Riverdance, while the Northerners march the Traditional

route from their dressing room to the pitch, via their opponents dressing room.

4) Unfortunately the Committee was unable to accept the Welsh proposal to form a choir and sing Tom Jones’ “It’s Not Unusualâ€. And the Society for Sheep Protection denied the other suggestion.

5) Argentina will unexpectedly invade a small part of opposition territory, claim it as their own “Las In-Goals-Areas†and have to be

forcibly removed by the match stewards.

6) Two members of the South African team will claim to be more important than the other 13 whom they will imprison between

the posts. These two will then go about selecting the best parts of the pitch to settle on and claim that they have been there for centuries.

7) The Americans will not attend until almost full time. In future years they will amend the records to show that they were in fact

the most important team in the tournament and Hollywood will make a blockbuster film called ‘Saving Flanker Ryan’.

8) Five of the Canadian team will sing La Marseillaise and hold the rest of the team to ransom.

9) The Italian team will arrive in Armani gear, sexually harass the female officials and then prepare pasta dishes, which they will flog

to the crowd for a fortune.

10) The Japanese will shock fans buy demonstrating how to capture a whale for scientific research by harpooning an opposition prop.

11) The French won’t have a pre-match display and will simply hide in fear in the dressing room for the whole match.

12) The Australians will have a BBQ on their side of the field and invite the opposition over before the game. The food and alcohol

will be in abundance and by the start of the game no-one will remember what they came to the stadium for. After some

streaking, the singing of dirty songs and the occasional chunder everyone will go home thoroughly convinced it was a bloody

good night.

13) The Moroccan team will quietly pray during the first half and then launch suicide attacks against the opposition after the break.

Unfortunately, this strategy works well for the first game only, after which Morocco is forced to withdraw from the Rugby World

Cup due to lack of players.

14) Samoa will prepare a huge feast in the middle of the pitch by digging a large hole and filling it with burning embers. They invite

the opposition over by saying, “We’d like to have you for dinnerâ€.

 

 

Hopefully, with these policies now in place, further problems is this area of the game should cease to exists.

Regards,

Syd Miller

IRB Chairman

[farquah 0]

All time classic, NZ V Tonga, Tonga reply to Haka. Tell me that doesn't get you revved up!

 

[Tubby Beaver 209]

I like number 3 and 7 best!!

 

[Mantas 3]

Originally Posted By: farquah

Tell me that doesn't get you revved up!

It might if I was a moari.

[HoTRoD 2]

Quote:

Tell me that doesn't get you revved up!

I think it looks pretty dumb myself.

[WhiteThunder 0]

I have an English Rugby programme of the Kiwis just as they are in the air at the end of the Haka with their arms raised and up in the air and the titile of it is

 

"Give up already ?"

 

I laughed so hard I snotted coffee all over the desk

 

Keep thinking, Give up already ? and then click here

 

[thursday 1]

No really, the Haka gives me chills from schoolboy days. It is the biz.

[oblivion 5]

Sorry new to this conversation.

 

Could another team not turn round and do it's own dance. Say they decided to the The Locomotion of the Birdie Dance or some other original routine? (I know, silly dances, but would they be allowed to?)

[bobby12 0]

I guess yes, but they might feel a bit effeminate so i doubt they would want to.

 

I think they should just drop their pants, pull out rulers, and start measuring each other up.

[thursday 1]

The cold would make it quite Inacurrate

[scouser 4]

Perhaps they could do some kind of macho rap 'dance' rather than the Birdie Dance.

 

I don't get it myself.

[Mantas 3]

It make a lot of sense if your a Kiwi.

[scouser 4]

I can understand that. But opposing teams are not Kiwis. I don't really see why opposing teams need to stand to attention to view this spectacle.

[Mantas 3]

Nor do I Scouser, nor do I.

[Mantas 3]

Well it seems my prediction was wrong. (for the moment)

 

Last night the English lads erred on the side of diplomacy and 'faced' the Haka.

Judging by the expression on the their faces, they were far from being intimidated or scared, more like annoyed and uninterested.

[ssar 0]

Great to see one of the few "World Cups" of teams competing in a REAL contact sport.

 

Oh, and check out this footage of some amazing interpretations of the respective teams' traditional War cries..

 

The Aboriginal War Cry vs the Maori Haka just prior to the start of the game of Australian Indigenous XIII vs New Zealand Maori XIII in an entertaining curtain-raiser match of the 2008 Rugby League World Cup at the Sydney Football Stadium last Sunday 26 October:

 

 

Btw: Result:

 

Australian Indigenous Team 34 (Rhys Wesser 2, Rod Jensen 2, Jason Carney, Yileen Gordon tries; Jamie Soward 5 conversions).

 

beat

 

New Zealand Maori 26 (Sam McKendry, Shaun Kenny-Dowall, Chase Stanley, Jordan Rapana, Arana Taumata tries; Bronx Goodwin 2 conversions; Chase Stanley conversion).

 

Good stuff.

[ssar 0]

Oh, and /ontopic

 

The Maori / AllBlacks Haka is legendary, and a fantastic part of Rugby (union and league - though I personally will always consider the All Blacks Rugby Haka as the most intense.)

 

It, along with all other countries' "war/tribal dances" at the start of footy matches should never fade away and always be embraced by all involved.

 

Each team, therefore, has the right to prepare in thier own way (within reason - dropping the dack and mooning your opponents, for example, might be pushing the spirit of it all) during that time.

 

BUT, I beleive they should all generally face their opponents.

 

Blatantly turning your back on them, and holding that position during thier performance is not only disrespectful imo, but intrinsically hints at signs of weakness.

 

And I'm extra glad that in the game where the Poms held thier team huddle circle with half of them holding thier backs to the Haka, the Poms eventually got humiliated on the field in the game itself.

 

They should have just had a semi circle, with all members at least somewhat facing the kiwis.

[SerreChe 2]

The naked bold man with the tatoos and the girly string makes for a nice addition...

[bobby12 0]

theres more people doing the haka than in the stands!

[charlotte 0]

Very, er, manly. (In a totally unattractive way).

I think they scared off the people watching.

[Mantas 3]

Originally Posted By: ssar

The Aboriginal War Cry vs the Maori Haka just prior to the start of the game of Australian Indigenous XIII vs New Zealand Maori XIII in an entertaining curtain-raiser match of the 2008 Rugby League World Cup at the Sydney Football Stadium last Sunday 26 October:

You hit the nail on the head Ssar. The Haka is ENTERTAINMENT. Totally relevant for an all indigenous game with every single player specifically selected to play because of their indigenous back ground. Not so relevant for an International match where not even the Kiwis are all indigenous. There's nothing funnier than watching a pasty faced Anglo Kiwi doing a traditional Maori war dance.

[@tokyo 14]

How many of them are non-Anglos?

[KRUSTY 2]

The Kiwis bet the Aussies 34-20 in the final, Sounded like it was a good match. Anyone see it?

[thursday 1]

I bet the Kiwis won.

[Mantas 3]

It was a great match. The kiwis played really well and Australia made 2 terrible mistakes that directly gifted the Kiwis 2 tries. Australia was unprepared. The Kiwis have had some tough battles leading up to the final, meanwhile Australia was romping home every game 50, 60 Nil against countries like Fiji.

 

An ineresting response to the Haka as well.