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Before the Test betweeen New Zealand and South Africa begins, a ritual will take place. The All Blacks will conduct a traditional Maori war dance, to lay down a gauntlet, and the purpose of this exercise will be to intimidate the Springboks.
In a sense, the Boks are required to watch. The French coach asked the All Blacks not to perform this dance of death, which contains lines like ‘It is death! It is death!’ in one of its iterations, when New Zealand toured France in 2006.
He was widely pilloried as a coward.
When the Italians pretended to ignore it in the 2007 World Cup, they were seen as petulant.
When Aussie great David Campese realised it was haka time, he would do drills, as did the whole Wallabies team in 1996.
But ducking or feigning no interest is usually seen as fake, or less than manly.
The other response to this chant about ‘Our dominance! Our supremacy!’ is to do as Francois Pienaar did in the 1995 World Cup final: approach slowly, and stand as close as possible.
France did a version of this ‘we accept the challenge’ statement in 2011.
The Kapo O Pango version of the haka was written by Maori cultural expert Derek Landalli, and debuted at Dunedin in 2005, as a ‘special gift’ to the Springboks.
Dunedin is known as the House of Pain.
The All Blacks did win that Test 31-27, after captain Tana Umaga drew his thumb across his throat, in a gesture that could only be interpreted as a throat-slitting suggestion.
The haka is clearly a message; and it asks for one of five responses:
(1) Fake inattention that invites later ridicule or accusations of cultural insensivity;
(2) Meek subservience, in a Hegelian surrender that says the All Blacks indeed are superior and dominant;
(3) Overt challenge, including a warrior-like preening and snorting riposte;
(4) Jeering laughter or contempt; or
(5) Stone-faced silence, with no inkling of any apparent emotion.
The Springboks are not known for using the first two methods of communication. I think the third or fourth are options best left for lesser teams. The last is the best.
The haka invites violence in the man who is its target.
But it must be channeled into rugby; in the form of a win, a legal battering, a permissible assault, and perhaps, after the match, in the privacy of the dressing room, a South African version of the haka.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.