Haka linked to Magpies coach woes

DOUG LAING
A decision by the Hawke's Bay Rugby Union to prevent the Magpies performing pre-match haka may be the reason the team's coach is under fire, says the man who taught its players the powerful Tika Tonu.
The Hawke's Bay Magpies' plans to use the Ngati Kahungunu haka as a focus of pre-match preparation were ditched last year after allegedly being vetoed by union management.
The apparent ban has angered Tamatea rugby club president Don Hutana who taught the team the haka at the invitation of team coach Brendon Ratcliffe and members of the squad early last year. The side was hoping to make amends for its loss to Nelson Bays in the NPC second division final the previous season.
The side quickly embraced it as part of team culture, and Mr Hutana said there were those who believed it gave the players a new edge as they hammered Nelson Bays 42-25.
But the team was stopped from doing the haka later in the season, including the eventual final in which the Magpies beat Nelson Bays again, 32-17.
On at least one occasion before a game, the team shook the concrete structure of the Harris Stand at homeground McLean Park with a rousing Tika Tonu in the changing rooms.
Mr Hutana kept quiet on the issue until his club, aware of players' concerns, wrote to the Hawke's Bay union last month, asking for confirmation of why the haka had been dropped. He said he was insulted when sources close to the team told him it had been vetoed because "this is the Hawke's Bay team ... not the Hawke's Bay Maori team".
There had been no reply by today when Mr Hutana, a core member of his club for more than 40 years, said some believed the team's wish to continue with the haka, and its use in the changing room with the support of the coach, were issues in the union management's apparent dissatisfaction with Mr Ratcliffe.
The club's concern came amid rumours that union management was trying to remove the coach after two seasons. With the coaching issue possibly off to the Employment Court, union chairman Richard Hunt wasn't commenting on that issue today - a stance the union board may also have to take at its annual meeting tonight.
But in relation to the haka, he said Magpie teams had done it for matches with East Coast, but "there was not a perception" it would be done before every game.