The All Blacks perform the haka ahead of their semifinal clash with England. Photo / Photosport
COMMENT:
England have been fined for transgressing during the World Cup semifinal haka, but they'll be fine with that.
Whatever it has cost them is chicken feed compared to their wages, the England rugby union's earnings, and the gains from a superlative victory over the All Blacks.
As to what part Eddie Jones' haka-confronting giant V-sign played, along with Joe Marler's illicit wander and Owen Farrell's smile, who can exactly tell?
But one thing is certain: the Yokohama haka didn't hurt England. That's for sure.
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Other teams perform rituals before test matches, but the All Black haka draws most attention because they are rugby's most dominant team and the haka symbolised their mythical and intimidating status.
Writers from other countries attack it at times, and fairly. The All Blacks act as if it is their right to have the haka respected, denying opponents their right to do whatever it takes to win a footy match.
Or to put it another way, should Roger Federer be forced to stand silently on one side of the net before a tennis Grand Slam final while Rafael Nadal pumps himself up and offers apparent threats from the other?
Not that Nadal would see this as a clever way of going into a match.
The pertinent topic now is the haka's role in taking away the All Blacks' initial focus and proper concentration of energy.
I would argue that in this age of highly professional analysis and preparation, the haka is a ridiculous way to prepare when emotions can be easily over-charged anyway.
My impression is that compared to their ability, the All Blacks have become poor starters in big test matches.
They have engineered amazing comeback victories in recent years, but that in itself tells a story. In one example, they gave England a big start at Twickenham last year, struggling from the outset when Brodie Retallick dropped the kick-off.
In their two toughest physical challenges at the World Cup, they conceded the advantage to South Africa and England from the kick-off. South Africa should have made them pay, and England did.
Before the Yokohama semifinal, the common analytical thread painted the start as absolutely critical. The All Blacks looked bamboozled and physically shy in the opening moments when England launched a stunning strike.
In amateur days, the haka was a bit of a party piece to be quite frank…check out those old videos.
They weren't even an automatic part of the pre-test ritual. The first home haka was only performed before the famous 1975 underwater test at Eden Park, where Scotland sunk without trace almost literally.
Over time, the haka has become part of the branding, rather than a curio, with greater respect being played to its cultural significance.
But the All Blacks go on to the field to win test matches, not conduct de facto advertising campaigns or make cultural statements.
And the best PR is to keep winning, something that is far from assured anymore as mounting losses in a re-shaped rugby world have shown.
Calm and clear-headed aggression is the key at kick-off, the reason why the veteran Irish captain Rory Best never sung an anthem let alone contemplated doing a war dance.
Or try this. After Rieko Ioane initially struggled when he returned to the All Blacks against Canada at the World Cup, he claimed to have "front-loaded a lot of energy in that first half".
"I was emotional through the anthem and haka." It had been "awesome to refocus" after that.
Ioane was not pointing entirely to the haka, but it did get a significant mention. Anthem singing can be emotional enough, without the blood curdling, energy-sapping and mind-scrambling follow-up.
Significantly, other teams now see the haka as an opportunity to disorientate the All Blacks. They don't have to do much: a smile here, a wink there, a little walk over there.
The haka is not a professional way to prepare in the modern sports environment. Every moment counts in the big games, and the opening moves – as we saw in Yokohama – can be pivotal.
"Scoreboard pressure" is the buzz phrase and one which All Blacks playmaker Beauden Barrett used after England had smashed up the All Black forwards and strangled the backline under George Ford's clever direction. These All Blacks were on the wrong side of that pressure.
The All Blacks won't suddenly fall apart after one World Cup defeat. There are certainly other issues, the lack of powerful ball-carrying props the obvious one.
But the starts are absolutely critical. It is time to consider letting the haka go or placing it somewhere else, in the name of winning.