England fear that Joe Marler’s comments about the Haka may have ‘prodded the bear’, as they prepare to face an All Blacks side fired-up by the furore over their traditional pre-match challenge.
While New Zealand hope that any response to their war dance by England at Twickenham on Saturday is ‘respectful’, home captain Jamie George has voiced his support for the Haka, but also for the opposition’s right of reply. That was a view expressed by Marler on social media earlier this week, after the veteran Harlequins prop had incensed Kiwis by arguing that the Haka should be ‘binned’.
Amid heightened pre-match tensions ahead of the Autumn Nations Series opener, George tried to lighten the mood, saying: ‘Thank you Joe Marler! We’ve chatted a little bit this week and I just said, “Cheers mate, thanks very much!”.
‘To be honest, it’s classic Joe. He’s always been a little bit close to the line, I suppose, with certain social media posts. So, nothing comes as a surprise with Joe. It’s not unhelpful. It’s a conversation that Joe and I actually had had the week before; thoughts on it, what can we do back to it, all that kind of thing. I guess he’s sort of prodded the bear a bit.’
George was effusive in his praise for the spectacle created by the All Blacks’ familiar ritual before kick-off, having faced it many times in his career. ‘I love it,’ he said. ‘I love the history of it.’
Asked if England intend to respond in any way, as they did – famously – before the 2019 World Cup semi-final in Yokohama, by standing in an assertive arrow-head formation, the skipper said: ‘We’ll have a chat about it; myself and some of the senior players. But, yeah, there might be something.’ The hooker was adamant that an appropriate response should be allowed, adding: ‘I think that you should be entitled to that, as long as it is respectful.’
That was the buzz-word from the All Blacks camp too, as head coach Scott Robertson reacted to Marler’s comments which have lit the fuse for tomorrow’s encounter. ‘I know Joe,’ he said. ‘I wonder if he wishes he could have articulated himself a little bit better on that.
‘The Haka for us, it’s a custom, it’s part of who we are, it’s our DNA. It’s for occasions, for joy, for connection, and also for challenge, and we use it as a challenge. And we believe it’s a great tradition of rugby, as all Pacific nations do beforehand, just to honour where they’ve come from. So it’s not just about the All Blacks, it’s about us as a country, so it means a lot to us.’
What about if England choose to respond in any way? ‘Obviously it’s the respect thing,’ he added. ‘The crowd enjoy it. They know this is a special occasion. Some (South Africa) put a plane over the top. Whatever the response is, it’s got to be meaningful and respectful. Whatever they come up with, we’ll face.’
Robertson had no complaints about England’s display of defiance in the Far East, adding: ‘Oh, awesome. There was a clear meaning behind it, and it was respectfully done. It’s great, that’s what we’re all about.’
While Test rugby is a highly professional, technical, scientific sporting pursuit these days, there is still room for some old-school psych-up tactics. Many countries search for perceived slights from the rival camp or nation, to help them achieve the right emotional state for a big game.
Asked if New Zealand will do that this time, by harnessing what Marler said to galvanise them, Robertson said: ‘I don’t have to pin it up on the wall when it’s on social media! The boys are aware of it. We don’t use it to say, “This is what we see as disrespectful”, especially because it’s probably happened before. But we’ll discuss it and decide how we deal with it respectfully.’
