Rugby Union - new haka cuts too deep

The All Blacks performing the new haka in front of South Africa last year. PIture / Mark Mitchell

The All Blacks have been asked to mothball their new Kapa O Pango haka and its controversial throat-slitting gesture.

The request came from the New Zealand Rugby Union, but chief executive Chris Moller conceded that the All Blacks may use Kapa O Pango to celebrate the start of their test schedule on Saturday.

"Our strong preference is that until we have gone through a review and spoken to all the relevant parties, that the new haka is not performed," he said.

"But we cannot order them not to perform, that is not the best management practice."

Kapa O Pango was unveiled last August, instead of the traditional Ka Mate Ka Mate, before the All Blacks played the Springboks at Carisbrook. Its introduction was widely applauded although there were mixed reactions to the final throat-slashing action.

That, explained senior Otago University lecturer Poia Rewi, was a sign of respect towards the opposition.

Debate over Kapa O Pango continued, however, and was strident enough for the issue to be discussed by the NZRU board.

"We were aware of the reaction in some quarters of the public to Kapa O Pango and in particular to the gesture at the end of the haka," Moller said.

"Together with the All Blacks management and all other interested parties we are reviewing the situation. Hopefully we will have some sort of resolution in the next few weeks.

"We don't want it performed until such time as this issue has been worked through. From time to time, though, people take unilateral decisions.

"We hope they will perform a haka [in Hamilton] and in the absence of not performing Kapa O Pango, it would be Ka Mate Ka Mate."

The All Blacks were coy yesterday about their haka choice for Saturday and who would lead the performance. Aaron Mauger said neither haka had been amended and they were meant to complement each other.

"We talked about it the other day and that haka is an art and you don't change art to suit other people," the midfielder said.

"So we are pretty happy with the way it [Kapa O Pango] was composed originally and if we are going to do it, we are pretty keen to do it the way that it was meant to be done.

"We never meant to ditch the old one and replace it with this one, we thought it was good to have both."

Kapa O Pango's composer Derek Lardelli declined to comment.