Rob Robertson: Detractors like Joe Marler should leave the haka alone

The England prop who has called it quits after 95 caps felt the dance gave the All Blacks a psychological advantage. He described it as “rubbish” and “should be binned.” 

If anything is “rubbish” and “should be binned” it is the singing of the irritating Swing Low Sweet Chariot by England fans who tried to drown out the New Zealand players when they performed their ceremonial war dance.

Unlike the haka, it adds nothing to any rugby occasion.

The All Blacks perform the haka before their win over England (Image: David Davies/PA) It was England head coach Steve Borthwick’s baffling decision to take off Marcus Smith and replace him with George Ford, who pulled a last-minute drop goal attempt wide, that cost his side the game. Not the All Blacks doing the haka.

At least Marler furiously back-tracked as quickly as a defence forced into reverse by a bulldozing driving maul once he realised he had created a cultural storm, but the damage had already been done.

Marler, who has become a mainstream media personality - he has been one of the guests on the Saturday night prime-time show The Wheel with Michael McIntyre - realised he was out of order and apologised for his comments once the heat was on him.

His words were unnecessary and created an unwanted sideshow ahead of what turned out to be a magnificent showdown between two of the greatest rugby nations in the world.

Marler’s comments did get me thinking though whether pre-match rituals like the haka or actions before kick-off ever add a bit of sporting rocket fuel to teams?

As a Scotsman let me get the obvious one that certainly did out of the way first.

I was in the crowd for the 1990 Grand Slam game when David Sole slow walked his team out of the tunnel. That certainly got me fired up on the terraces and most definitely inspired the players. That was a one-off but there are other regular rituals that Scotland do that add to the occasion at Murrayfield that definitely fires up the players and fans.

When South Africa take on Scotland at Scottish Gas Murrayfield next weekend all the stops -both on and off the field- will have to be pulled out to ensure a home win.

Things will start with a piper leading the Scotland team bus into the stadium with the fans lining their route.

Then the captain or a new cap will carry a replica ball from the 1925 Grand Slam game against England into the Scotland dressing room before setting it down on its own special shelf.

Then, as any Scotland player or fan will tell you,  it will be an uplifting and inspiring moment when the lone piper appears on the roof of Murrayfield and the band stops playing and everyone unites to sing the second verse of Flower of Scotland.

For uncapped Scotland players - New Zealand-born Tom Jordan, who experienced it for the first time at Murrayfield on Saturday - all these pre-match rituals add to the great memories of a first cap.

There have been emotional pre-match moments at Murrayfield too that inspired the fans and players. 

In 2017, the All Blacks were involved in a very special one at the home of Scottish rugby that will never be forgotten.

Usually the last thing New Zealand players do before kick-off is the haka. On this occasion they agreed to a request from Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend to change their long standing tradition to allow the legendary Doddie Weir and his three sons deliver the match ball after they had finished their war dance.

Doddie Weir, flanked by his sons, presented the match ball when Scotland faced the All Blacks in 2017 (Image: SNS) I still enjoy watching the haka and ahead of the game between England and New Zealand on Saturday afternoon it added to the sense of occasion.

Marler, who was at Twickenham (now called the Allianz Stadium for sponsorship reasons), must have been embarrassed to watch the electric atmosphere created when the All Blacks performed the traditional dance he initially wanted banned.

First there were boos from the England fans and then the England players marched towards the New Zealanders as the home fans sang “Swing low, sweet chariot” to try and spoil the moment.

The England players handled the piece of rugby theatre perfectly on Saturday with their steady walk towards it and took it seriously which wasn’t always the case. 

One of the funniest moments for me came when the legendary Australian David Campese totally ignored the haka at the 1991 World Cup and kept practising his kicking to touch in the backfield as his team-mates lined up to accept the All Blacks' challenge.

The New Zealand haka is part of rugby history and should be respected. So are other pre-match war dances done by other southern hemisphere countries. Does Marler want them all banned too?

The look on the faces of the Samoan players when they do their version of the haka called, Siva Tau, shows the pride they get from representing their country.

 The cibi, the traditional Fiji war dance, has been performed at rugby games since 1939. The Fijians did it at Murrayfield on Saturday with their players spread all over their half of the pitch. It was impressive to watch.

The Fijian players line up to perform their own war dance, the Cibi, before Saturday's game (Image: SNS)
The haka, the lone piper, the Fijian war dance all create an atmosphere in their own special way.

Thankfully the New Zealand one has been refined over recent years with players learning how to do it properly turning it into a spectacle. There were times in the past when it looked like a group of blokes self-consciously doing a dance in public. Their efforts made dad dancing at weddings look good.

At least having to learn the haka isn’t as embarrassing as newcomers who qualify through residency for the Scotland team having to be taught all the words to Flower of Scotland so they can sing it before kick-off.

Marler does make a good point when he said that teams deserve to be able to challenge it without sanction. Just now they can be fined if they get too close and move from their half of the field into the other when the haka is being performed.

The fans or opposition players shouldn’t have to treat it with total respect. The stadium doesn’t have to go silent when it is performed.

A few boos, complete indifference or walking towards it and staring it down from inside your own half is perfectly acceptable. 

In 2019 England were fined £2,000 for crossing the halfway line as they lined up in a V formation to face the haka before their Rugby World Cup semi-final match against New Zealand.

Punishing them for their combative approach to a combative war dance was way over the top by World Rugby. As long as the haka is faced with respect then any response to it should be allowed.

There have been times when disciplinary action was correctly taken.

A case in point was when former Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill crossed the line when he went nose to nose with All Black Norm Hewitt back in 1997 when he was doing the haka.

Scotland players and fans have always been respectful of the haka at Murrayfield which isn’t surprising because the national team play New Zealand so little that watching it live is a novelty.

Long may the All Blacks continue performing it and detractors such as Marler should leave the haka well alone.