The most famous scratch side in all of rugby football is back together and on tour. The British and Irish Lions have arrived in New Zealand and play their first game this Saturday.
Mainstream media and commercial interest is at a height that rivals that of the World Cup which means, of course, we are going to get a lot of haka. Seriously, there’s going to be so much haka this summer.
The haka is treated with incredible respect in New Zealand, which is why when Wales had the audacity to stand still and look at the performance in Cardiff in 2009, All Black centre Ma'a Nonu was full of righteous indignation.
“What the Welsh did wound us up... it was really hard (to accept),” said Nonu in a very serious manner, furious at a hint of aggression being shown to the war dance. “The Haka is a war dance. If you're going to stand there like that then in the past people would have charged, but it's a rugby match and you can't do that.”
Hopefully such loutish behaviour by the Welsh won’t mar this Lions tour. Also, New Zealand also hopefully won’t be forced to be offended by the Lions responding to the haka as was the case in 2005. That grim time saw the Lions stand in a semi-circle and throw a blade of grass in the air. That was, despite being the idea of a Maori, also apparently offensive. So we sincerely hope such dishonour won’t be repeated.
Instead, let us pray that that most sacred of Maori traditions will instead just be lovingly and respectfully used by the All Blacks this summer to help them fight the might of the Lions (while also helping flog some Adidas gear and get people to Google what the hell AIG actually does exactly).
Project Haka is go
We’ve launched #projecthaka to help us record and log the best hakas we’ll see not just this summer, but at all times in rugby union. Because heritage should be cherished. Tradition should be respected. Special moments should be recorded for future generations.
So if you see a moving haka this summer during the Lions tour, let us know. We want to hear which haka moves you the most? Will there be a credit card haka to rival this one? (There has been more than one credit card haka from the All Blacks or former players).
Will there be an haka as moving as this one to promote a billion dollar German sporting corporation?
Perhaps there will be another AIG haka with 3D and other such modern sorcery to bedazzle us?
Sky get in early for the Lions
We always knew there would be a Sky Sports haka this summer and, sure enough, there was. Sky, being Sky, have of course based its entire promotional campaign for the tour on the haka. It was an open goal that even an Italian goal kicker would have hit. As such it makes our first entry into the Project Haka archives.
Watch you don't bang your head on the cliches or choke on the cheese.
So if you’ve got a haka or haka story to share, let us know on Twitter with #projecthaka (@theeeastterrace). Let us begin.
