Rugby: 'Objectified and commercially exploited' - Haka on borrowed time says English writer

The All Blacks perform the haka ahead of the Bledisloe Cup clash with Australia. Photo / Jason Oxenham.

An English rugby writer says the haka has been 'objectified and commercially exploited' by rugby in a column that asks if the All Blacks' pre-match routine is on borrowed time.

The Telegraph's Charles Richardson penned a column on the topic of English team Exeter Chiefs and their Native American branding which has come under scrutiny.

The Exeter Chiefs had a review of their name last year which saw the side remove the mascot Big Chief, but retained the Chiefs moniker. Now supporters from rival side Wasps are demanding a ban on any Native American headdresses at the club's stadium.

"But even as Exeter's desperate boating against the current continues its inexorable journey towards defeat, fans should be asking themselves what it means for other brands within the sport," Richarson wrote.

"Rightly or wrongly, cancel culture is often met with the question: "Where do you draw the line?" In this case, rather than using it to flippantly bemoan modern attitudes, it is worth genuinely asking and deliberating: who is next?," he went on before pointing out the Saracens franchise is based on a name which is a derogatory Christian term for Arab Muslims and Turks from the middle ages.

In 2019, the Crusaders decided to keep their name but change their imagery in the wake of the Christchurch mosque shootings which claimed 51 lives.

The Crusaders name, which they have held since Super Rugby began in 1996, became a source of public contention as it was the title given to Christian armies who fought against Muslims early in the last millennium.

"Might, even, the haka be on borrowed time, too?" Richardson wrote.

"From a purely sporting sense, it should be; no one has ever adequately explained why any country has the right to perform an intimidatory tribal war dance before a rugby match while the opposition has to politely spectate. In terms of social and cultural status, however, surely it is misappropriation 101?

"Rugby's link to the haka is no more authentic than chalk to cheese or Exeter to the Iroquois. The haka is a tribal war dance originating with the indigenous Maori in New Zealand. Over the course of the 20th Century, it has been piggybacked, objectified and commercially exploited by rugby union; a Maori cultural symbol that has been caricatured and fetishised the world over.

"And, just like those Chiefs headdresses, those Knights, Saracens and Crusaders, its days might be numbered."

Northern Hemisphere writers having a problem with the All Blacks pre-match haka, and never Samoa, Tonga or Fiji's war dances, has been a repeated issue.

In 2019, Irish writer Ewan MacKenna called for a stop to the All Blacks haka, saying it "gives New Zealand an unfair advantage".

A year earlier, respected British journalist Peter Bills reignited debate over the role the haka played for the All Blacks in his book The Jersey.

Interviews with ex-All Blacks Sir Colin Meads and Kees Meeuws revealed frustrations about the heavy use of the haka, and the team's mental skills coach, Gilbert Enoka, revealed some All Blacks had previously felt "haka'd out" and some "hated" having to constantly perform the Ka Mate version.

The haka was first performed by the 1888-89 New Zealand Natives side during their tour of Britain and Australia. It took place before all away games until it also became a regular fixture before home games in 1986.

In August 2005, before taking on South Africa in a (then) Tri-Nations match, the All Blacks performed Kapa O Pango for the first time - a haka that had been specially written for the All Blacks.