Ardie Savea performs the haka. Photo / Photosport
Former Ireland midfielder Gordon D’Arcy says opposing sides should be encouraged to face the All Blacks’ haka “or else it becomes one-sided pageantry”.
Writing in the Irish Times, the 82-test midfielder said: “Former England prop Joe Marler may have chosen the wrong words to express his
views on facing the haka in the lead-up to last week’s match, but I think the sentiment he was trying to portray is not wrong. The haka needs to be answered in some fashion or else it becomes one-sided pageantry.”
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s highly anticipated clash between the All Blacks and Ireland, D’Arcy said teams that hit upon the “correct tone” for facing the haka tended to have one common trait: they possessed “the capacity to beat the All Blacks”.
“Whether it was England during their tour of 2003, South Africa periodically in the Rugby Championship, France in and out of World Cups and now more recently Ireland, the haka is taken as it is meant to be, a challenge.
“The aforementioned teams had the ability to accept the challenge, and that tension is felt right across the stadium, shared by the players facing each other as well as the fans.”
