Amid a tidal wave of frothing outrage in New Zealand after Joe Marler’s comments about the Haka, here’s an alternative take: he has done wonders for projected viewing figures on Saturday.
Who is going to miss it now? Suddenly, there is a powerful glare of attention on a marquee fixture which was in danger of flying under the radar. All was quiet, all was calm, all was a bit low key. Not now. The fuse has been lit. There is tension and anticipation.
Rugby is a sport which does not do a great job of selling itself and generating box office hype, but the job has been done by someone who is not in any marketing department, although he certainly could be.
Joe Marler faced considerable backlash after suggesting that the Haka needed “binning”. Pic: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
What Marler did was dare to voice doubts about the Haka ritual, which is seen by many as sacred and not open for discussion or, heaven forbid, criticism.
Part one of the promotional strategy involved the veteran Harlequins prop putting out a post on X which read: ‘The Haka needs binning. It’s ridiculous.’
While the shockwaves were still resonating, Marler clarified his opinion by posting: ‘It’s only any good when teams actually front it with some sort of reply. Like the league boys did last week.’
That was a reference to the scenes before kick-off in the England versus Samoa rugby league Test in Wigan last Sunday, when the visitors performed their traditional war dance, the Siva Tau, in the faces of the home players, with some opponents literally head-to-head.
The footage was soon going viral. Would that have happened if the teams had been kept apart? Of course not.
Players of England line-up as Samoa perform The Siva Tau prior to the Autumn International Series test match between the sides at Brick Community Stadium in Wigan. Pic: Jess Hornby/Getty Images
Within hours of Marler’s remarks, he had been forced to delete not just the posts but his whole account, such was the scale of the ‘pile-on’. Some of the replies he received were vile and unprintable, as the toxic world of social media convulsed.
It is worth noting that Marler was not ordered to delete his posts or his account by the RFU or the England management. He is not in any trouble for saying what he said. The expression of personal views, even if they are polarising and sensitive ones, is not forbidden by any code of conduct, providing they are not deemed to have gratuitously caused offence, which is not the case here.
It is a sad sign of the times that a debate cannot take place without poisonous rhetoric. Instead of defending the Haka ritual, many Kiwis and others simply set upon Marler. But his point was valid once he had provided the clarification.
The Haka should not be banned, or ‘binned’, of course not. It is a tradition which draws an audience to the sport, while also representing cultural heritage.
It is the calling card of the All Blacks around the world and a popular attraction wherever they go. It is also, undoubtedly, a powerful part of the commercialisation of a national team, which has become such a leading oval ball ‘brand’.
New Zealand players perform the ‘haka’ before the Autumn Nations Series match between Ireland and New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium in 2022. Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
But Marler is right, it is absolutely best when there is a response to the challenge.
Very few people not sat in the stadium will recall any particular Haka when the opposition are stood dutifully 20 metres away, still and passive, while New Zealand work themselves into a psyched-up state before kick-off. On one side, there is channelled aggression and on the other there is often passive opposition.
That is not a memorable spectacle or a balanced lead-up to a fire-and-brimstone Test match. It is better all round when the team receiving the challenge do something other than stand still and watch.
Everyone will have their favourite memory of such an episode and this correspondent has several.
Think back to 1997, when England took on the All Blacks at Old Trafford and Richard Cockerill ended up toe-to-toe and eyeball-to-eyeball with his rival hooker, Norm Hewitt. It was a confrontation which has gone down in folklore.
There were a series of incidents in Cardiff during the early 2000s, as Wales sought ways to ruffle Kiwi feathers. Pic: Stu Forster/Getty Images
There were a series of such incidents in Cardiff during the early 2000s, as Wales sought ways to ruffle Kiwi feathers.
There was the time when opera singer Wynne Evans delivered a spine-tingling rendition of Bread of Heaven after the Haka, which produced a fervent atmosphere. The following year, New Zealand were so incensed about the prospect of a Haka response that they did it in the changing room.
Perhaps the best of the lot in the Welsh capital came in 2008 when Richie McCaw and his All Blacks finished their Haka, only for Ryan Jones to lead the hosts in a tense stand-off, refusing to back away. When McCaw eventually stepped back first, the commotion was off the chart.
France faced down the war dance to devastating effect at the 2007 World Cup and so nearly repeated the feat four years later in Auckland.
Then in 2019, England’s arrow formation, complete with Owen Farrell glaring in the middle of it and Marler advancing well beyond halfway on one side, set the tone for an epic victory.
It doesn’t always pay off for teams who stand up to the challenge. Sometimes they poke the bear and are blown away, like Ireland were in 1989. ‘We won the dance but lost the match,’ Willie Anderson wrote many years later.
But, from a performance standpoint, it is worth trying to upset the routine and in terms of the spectacle, it is infinitely better.
Marler is right; without a response, the Haka can be too sanitised. But let teams react to it and it is box office gold.
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source link
