World Cup battle lines drawn early over All Blacks haka

LOSING a test series at home against Ireland has somehow opened the door to a world’s worth of naysayers to attack the All Blacks’ haka.

Writing in UK newspaper The Times, former England first-five and now TV pundit Stuart Barnes has long had a gripe about the effect of the haka on opponents, but now reckons the unbeatable sheen has come off our men in black, and claims ‘‘the longer the losses mount, the more the haka comes across as a dated dance from another time’’.

Sure, the All Blacks’ chances of overturning the world champion Springboks in Mbombela early this morning were slim – they beat us last time out on the Gold Coast last year and they’ve just come off a series win over Wales, while we’ve been preoccupied with blaming the coaching structure and trying to find a combination of players to take us forward to next year’s World Cup in France – but is this really the time to question one of world rugby’s most

marvellous spectacles. Barnes’ argument takes some following. Basically he reckons the haka is ‘‘designed to charm spectators, intimidate opponents and inspire the team’’ and has given the team ‘‘a mental edge throughout the history of the sport’’.

He says this ‘‘fear factor’’ has been one of the team’s ‘‘great weapons’’ and ‘‘the black jersey is so dark that opponents can get lost in the blackness of it during the crowd-pleasing haka... The

All Blacks were a cultural myth, and myths, as we well know, have enduring powers.’’ Interestingly Barnes also reckons the big cash injection from investors Silver Lake has helped lessen the

All Blacks’ mystique and the $200 million shows that ‘‘the men who run the New Zealand union are ready to sell their souls (like most of the world) for profit’’ and ‘‘Silver Lake has replaced the Silver Fern’’.

I get his argument that other rugbyplaying nations can use this to see the All Blacks as now somehow a lesser team – in his words, ‘‘once legends from the other end of the world, they are now little different from the rest of us’’.

But to take that argument and say it means we should lose the haka is a step way too far.

The timing is important here, too. Barnes’ column may have been written to preview last night’s match in the republic, but it was also designed to shout at the planners of next year’s world cup.

The All Blacks may well be in the doldrums, but they will still be one of the favourites to lift the William Webb Ellis trophy next year and this sort of distracting debate over the haka is a hardy perennial when it comes to opponents’ spoiling strategies.

So, Mr Barnes, it seems the gloves are off already for the world cup. Here’s hoping the All Blacks can do their talking on the pitch rather than sniping from the stands.