Its seems that on Total rl.com someone has posted that the Kiwis visited a primary school in Donny.The children did the Haka for the Kiwis then the Kiwis did the Haka for the the children.It seems its not known on here.I did ask the poster which school it was but as yet no reply.Its not an issue just an interest.Either way its well done to the children & the Kiwis.There is a video on the posting someone might see their own child up there.

It's on the other thread isn't it?

Sure is, very good effort by the kids & a great response from the Kiwi players.

My response to the Haka would be mooning ...simple as.

That would work.....put the Kids completely off their stride.
A lot of talk about Haka and people not liking it , each to their own , but your response ( Mooning ) has been done before.
In ancient times a Mighty Warrior feared by his enemy was challenged by a War party of considerable Size.
This guy Mooned the Haka as you plan to , and farted for good measure.

His enemy , the raiding War party figured he really didn't rate their fighting skills at all , so they buggered off home instead.

The Haka was / is used in different context. Most well known for a ' war dance ' it is actually a system for warming the Mind and Body to kill........and possibly eat your enemy after the fact if you were so inclined.

It was also ( and this is how it is used mostly today ) performed in contests or meeting people as a mark of honor and respect.
Maori aren't intimidated by Haka because they understand that when someone does this to you it is a sign of respect.

Giving crap back is allowed under the rules in the old days / in fact it's the point really....often lost on modern day understanding of what Haka is about.

The last time the Maori performed the Haka in it's warfare sense was WWll there are plenty of accounts of German Soldiers running from it ( they were brave men , unfortunately their own propaganda about Maori being seagul eating cannibals was working against them ).


more than you wanted to know I'm sure , excuse the rant I like history and culture.

The Kids at the school did themselves proud in a traditional NZ understanding of pride / respect.

I'm not advocating mooning around kids or even mooning at the Haka, this is my metaphor for showing no respect to an act of intimidation that hides behind some ceremonial ritual.
It's intimidation in a sporting situation, nothing else in practical terms, irrespective of its origins and present day meaning.

So I would turn my back on it, because the Haka is clearly no greeting and is totally out of place in sport.
Sport is meant to be ... well er ... sporting.
It's just a wind-up in rugby.

As for kids, they will copy anything.

And this is not to disrespect Kiwis, I just think they should drop it in sport, or it should be banned.
Keep it for royalty on state visits and the like.

Dare say that I will be In a very small minority though, but I'm used to that.

NORTON JUNIOR SCHOOL

Looking forward to the haka myself, crowd enjoy it (majority , or seem to), and the kids clearly enjoyed doing it in that video . long may it continue .

Mate the Mooning around kids quip was a complete take , I got what you meant , you have to forgive my warped sense of humor , being raised on a NZ Television diet in the 70's where the best shows were Dad's Army, Dave Allen , Benny Hill , and Kenny Everet would go some way to explaining it.
I went on to explain the meaning of Haka because even in NZ it is poorly understood. First of all I'm a proponent of freedom of opinion and speech. I don't care what other people think of something like the Haka It's my culture and I don't expect people to accept it just because it's my thing , so good on you.

But just as we have to accept a bit of National Anthem singing before kick off is the done thing , For Maori It's that and the Haka.

As I explained in the previous post the correct response to the Haka by say Englands Sports teams would be to Form lines in the Manner the Red Coats would have and perform a Musket firing Drill.

I'd love to see a bit of that , maybe one day it will happen , all sports have traditions , the NZ teams have brought theirs from the very first NZ tours of England and anywhere else.

If the Haka is banned , will sports be better for it ? perhaps , itls hard for me to appreciate how , teams like the Kangaroos love it , they feed off it , each to their own

I think perhaps a military tattoo might be appropriate ... don't you?




No, on reflection, the ultimate mickey take would be for us to kit out and perform as Morris dancers.
Now that I would love to see.

Touche !
Hope you get along to the Game , the Haka bit will be a bit drawn out because the Cook Islands have their own.
Have a Look out for Dylan Napa from the Cook Islands , easy to spot , he's a flaming red head ( Father is Cook Island ).
If you haven't seen him before , he's burst onto the scene this year for the Sydney Roosters. Tall Lean Second Row Forward with real aggression.
Hopefully the Cooks don't rest him ( ala the Kiwis who are resting all of their GF players SBW , Jared W-H , Roger Tuivasa Sheck , Sam Moa , Keiran Foran ).
I don't know if you've seen or heard of Shaun Johnson the Half back for this Game pairing up with Tommy Leuluai who you will know well , Johnson would be the fastest half in the World , no stretch , If he gets one of his trade mark intercepts he's gone.
Issac John who had a poor run at Salford I hear.....has found greener pastures and had a very good season with the Penrith Panthers in terms of individual performance , hopefully he gets a run for this game as well.

The Cook Islands also have some Good Props , They've never been able to compete with the Kiwi's but i've been to a few Warm up games ( NZ V Samoa was the last 'friendly' ) the Kiwi's I'm glad to say turn it on , they don't muck around in Trial games.

Be interesting to read peoples thoughts after the Game.

It is being televised Live here , I will be getting up at 0230 to watch it.

I will be there matey.
Looking forward to it.
Thanks for the information.