Sir Howard Morrison has stirred along the All Black haka controversy by calling on the Wallabies to do a haka of their own.
"If the All Blacks do Kapa o Pango, then they can do Ka Mate Ka Mate," said the Te Arawa kaumatua.
His nephew, reserve hooker Tai McIsaac,
and another Maori in the Wallabies should pick up the challenge, said Sir Howard.
"I rang my nephew after the last test and said to him, 'The haka is no more than a challenge. If a challenge is issued, you are to step forward and do the same thing. You have the mana of Te Arawa and are a representative of your people, you do not have to stand there and accept it'."
He said Kapa o Pango's throat-slitting gesture was not to be taken literally but was part of the challenge, which should be met with a response.
Controversy around the All Blacks' haka has dominated the build-up to tonight's Brisbane match. Australian coach John Connolly called the throat-cutting action "murderous".
All Black coach Graham Henry yesterday fired back, saying, "To have people coming in from outside New Zealand and making statements about how we should keep our backyard tidy is a bit irritating, especially when their backyard is questionable."
Sir Howard urged the Australian rugby union to allow its Maori players to respond, or find an equivalent response from the Aboriginal culture.
"It has been getting up my nose reading all about coaches of different teams including our All Blacks speaking on a subject they know nothing about."
However he was not confident his nephew or fellow Maori Jeremy Paul would respond with Ka Mate Ka Mate.
"He agreed, he said, 'Okay, uncle,' but I don't think he will."
Wallaby spokesman Michael Earsman said the players respected the haka, and would not be responding with one of their own.
- Additional reporting NZPA
