TJ Perenara’s haka statement highlights All Blacks’ need for clear policies - Gregor Paul

TJ Perenara performing the haka before the test against Italy in November. Photo / Getty Images

THREE KEY FACTS

• TJ Perenara spoke the words “Toitū te Tiriti o Waitangi” during his final haka against Italy last November.
• The phrase means “Honour the Treaty of Waitangi” in reference to David Seymour’s Treaty Principles Bill.
• A significant number of players – even some senior leaders – were unaware of the specifics of what the halfback planned to say.

Now that it has emerged TJ Perenara did not have the unanimous approval of his teammates to say a short speech before the haka in last year’s All Blacks test against Italy, some people will likely earn themselves a PhD in Missing the Point by using this revelation as evidence to conclude that the veteran halfback’s political views did not align with those of his teammates.

But the furore over what happened that night in Turin, and whether Perenara was right or wrong to do and say what he did, is not a question that can be answered through the lens of political allegiance.

There is a much bigger issue at play, which does not lie with what Perenara said, but the fact he said anything at all.

It’s possible – as no doubt many of his teammates are – to be entirely supportive of what the veteran halfback said but vehemently opposed to him using the All Blacks haka as his vehicle of expression.

It’s not contradictory to believe Perenara had a right to advocate for whatever political causes he believes in, but no mandate to do so through such a powerful weapon as the All Blacks haka.

The All Blacks are the people’s team, representing all of New Zealand and governed by values of togetherness and unity.

The players may be unified in vision, in core values they wish to uphold and a desire to succeed together, but they are a disparate group in terms of socio-demographics and upbringing and, if on no other metric than statistical probability, it is unimaginable they will hold unanimously compatible political views.

Politics by its very nature is divisive, and so by necessity, this makes the All Blacks apolitical.

To protect and uphold their ideals and preserve their unity of purpose, the All Blacks’ various media platforms have to be off-limits to any form of advocacy or statement-making that could be construed as having a political motive.

Politics, therefore, may appear to lie at the heart of this story, but what this is really all about is a failure in process.

Those who have justified Perenara’s decision to act outside the wishes of the team on the basis they support the message he delivered have to ask whether they would promote the same ends justifies the means argument if they had disagreed with the content of his statement.

Politicising the haka opens doors to places the All Blacks simply can’t go.

If Perenara could push a cause close to his own heart, what’s to stop others doing the same?

What if the next message is anti-vax, or pro-Trump’s imposition of global trade tariffs, or calls for economic sanctions to be lifted against Russia?

Or, perhaps more imaginable, what if Sir Jim Ratcliffe, owner of petrochemical firm Ineos which sponsors the All Blacks, threatens to pull his funding unless there is a public declaration before the haka supporting the Government’s plan to resume drilling for oil.

A rugby equivalent, almost, of cash for questions in Parliament, pushed by a billionaire looking to protect and promote his own considerable financial interests.

The All Blacks have enormous influence, and no one should doubt their power to sway public opinion or how interested advocacy groups, lobbyists, politicians and the super-rich would be in finding ways to harness the team’s profile.

And to some extent, those with detailed knowledge of how events played out, feel that Perenara took advantage of his mana within the team, and the privilege of his position as haka leader, to leverage, without permission, the power and reach of the All Blacks’ platform.

He was playing his last test – literally off to Japan the next day – so why didn’t he just wait 24 hours and make the same statement via his own social media channels?

Or, to frame it another way, would Perenara have followed the same process and acted the same way if it hadn’t been his last test?

If he was contracted through to the 2027 World Cup, would he have risked the inevitable, internal ramifications of his rogue operation?

And the question of ramifications is another intriguing one because there haven’t been any.

What began as a failure in process, became a failure in crisis management, and what remains missing is a definitive statement from New Zealand Rugby to clarify its non-negotiable stance on politicising the haka.

Immediately after the game, captain Scott Barrett and coach Scott Robertson opted to protect Perenara – a decision that may sit a little close to the Mafia code of omerta by protecting a brother ahead of telling the truth, but was at least made for the noble reason of not wanting to tarnish the reputation of a player for whom both had boundless respect.

But the situation needs clarity so the public can be reassured that the All Blacks will not become like the Beehive, where lobbyists have their own access cards to come and go as they like to try to wield influence wherever they can.

So too do players need it reiterated that in the digital age they have a licence from their employer to advocate respectfully for whatever causes or issues to which they feel aligned through their individual channels.

It’s potentially a grey area because NZ Rugby has baked the Americanisation of its athletes into its commercial strategy, believing that the bigger the individual brands are, the bigger the collective brand will be.

The silence in the aftermath of the Turin haka, has potentially widened that grey area – blurred the line maybe between when a player is speaking as an All Black and when a player is speaking for the All Blacks.

But really, it’s not that complicated. The All Blacks brand can’t be politicised for personal agendas, but players can have political opinions.

Gregor Paul is one of New Zealand’s most respected rugby writers and columnists. He has won multiple awards for journalism and has written several books about sport.