Posturing All Blacks sent packing
There was something almost comical about the All Blacks during the second Test in Durban.
The funny part wasn’t that they couldn’t catch a cold in Durban’s wet conditions or the shambles of a game-plan that they continue to dish up under Graham ‘Cat-’o-nine-lives’ Henry. No, the joke was what has become to the Haka. Nobody noticed as it slowly eroded into a dance routine while Carter and McCaw were keeping together a rather tidy rugby side. Without a good rugby side it’s just become a rather laughable pantomime.
The Haka that this team did was always respected and was known as the preamble to a bloody hard game of rugby. The ‘war challenge’ or whatever a trademark of a mighty rugby side.
What I’m going to say here is not meant as disrespect to the Haka or to Maori people. But who the hell are the All Blacks kidding these days? Not only do they have two Haka’s now it’s become a syncronised dance move that is more of a joke than a challenge.
For the Springboks to know that their opposition spend hours coming up with new ideas for the little rigmarole must be a source of great amusement. You could see it on Bakkies face. Bismarck couldn’t keep his smile to himself. The All Blacks in front of the mirror trying to make the veins in their necks stick out a little further or seeing how far they can stick their tongues out. It’s a bloody joke.
Piri Weepu couldn’t scare my grandmother in a dark alley. Seriously guys. Do you really think Fourie du Preez is frightened of a guy who plays flyhalf and scrumhalf equally badly just because he walks around screaming before the game? Or do you think that perhaps he’s actually finding the whole thing quite amusing? I’m going for the latter.
Maybe the forwards should get together and spend some of the time they waste on the haka rather working on their lineouts - which are diabolical.
Alternatively they could watch a tape of the All Blacks of the nineties and see what a truly fearsome Haka looked like. It looked like a bunch of rugby players going through a tradition. It certainly didn’t looked like the amateur dramatics society putting on their Christmas performance of the Lord of the Rings.
Or they could just wait for Ali Williams to come back from injury to make the joke complete.
