Sorry New Zealand, but best haka of all time was by Munster

It is usually the responses which we remember as opposed to the hakas themselves, and Munster’s in 2008 was the most stirring of them all

You knew we would end up discussing the haka at some point during this week – Joe Marler just decided to get the conversation started a little earlier with a verbal “grenade”, as Kevin Sinfield put it. Still, Marler’s comments and subsequent apology have completely dominated the discourse around England’s first Test of the autumn to such an extent that any discussions around tactics or selections have felt secondary.
Marler’s comments were plainly designed to try to stir the pot but he did have a point when he said “it’s only any good when teams actually front it with some sort of reply”. And the truth is teams can reply however they want to, according to World Rugby, providing they do not cross the halfway line. The reason for this, unofficially and rather depressingly, is to not get in the way of the cameras and photographers trying to film it.
Outside of when New Zealand introduced ‘Kapa o Pango’ against South Africa in 2005, which caused quite a stir with its throat-slitting gesture, it is usually the responses which we remember as opposed to the hakas themselves.
France’s tête-à-tête from the 2007 Rugby World Cup is probably why World Rugby decided to impose that rule about the opposing team standing further away, although it was gloriously spicy, with Imanol Harinordoquy and Sebastien Chabal doing their best to emulate Paddington’s hard stare.
Then you had Wales refusing to move in a stand-off in 2008, despite the pleas of an increasingly exasperated referee, Jonathan Kaplan. And as Marler has also referenced in his apology, England’s 2019 V formation was also effective (think Owen Farrell’s smirk).
And yet the greatest haka which I can remember was not a riposte or a reaction, but a welcome. Munster’s haka to the All Blacks in 2008 remains a staggering moment. The story goes that the province’s four Kiwis – Doug Howlett, the great All Black who had only left New Zealand a few months beforehand, plus Lifeimi Mafi, Rua Tipoki and Jeremy Manning – met to discuss how to respond to New Zealand’s challenge, and at one point even suggested that perhaps the entire Munster team could join them in performing the haka.
“One of the comments was, ‘let’s not upset them any more, Doug. You guys do the haka and you represent us’,” Howlett recalled. “And we did. We welcomed them to Thomond Park. It was a really special memory for me.”
To this day the footage remains stirring. Lined up with arms locked facing New Zealand, Howlett looks left and right, gives a small nod, and the four New Zealanders decked in Munster red step forward, the line of Munster players behind them tightening and edging closer in support. The crowd is so loud you can barely hear what Tipoki is saying. Behind you can spot a pumped Mick O’Driscoll, the Munster captain, revving up Peter Stringer alongside him. Manning’s astonishing facial hair is a nice bonus, before the quartet are absorbed back into the Munster line, Barry Murphy ruffling Tipoki’s hair in approval as they then prepare to face the All Blacks’ haka.
“I tell you if that doesn’t send shivers down your spine I don’t know what does,” added Tony Ward in commentary, and he had a point. Fittingly, Munster face a New Zealand XV on Saturday at Thomond Park a couple of hours after England host the All Blacks at Twickenham, although Munster’s squad for the game sadly lacks any Kiwi representation.
Years later, Mafi discussed the “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” with The 42. “We wanted to represent our team but at the same time we were wary of upsetting people. We know that Munster already have such culture and tradition, we didn’t want to come here and impose our stamp on them. But, people who have supported Munster for years, people who have played for Munster, this was something that everyone we spoke to wanted us to do. We did it on behalf of our teammates, on behalf of everyone who went before us – it was a special moment in my career, I’ll always remember it.”
Of course that haka from Howlett, Mafi, Tipoki and Manning was not necessarily the slickest or loudest you will ever see. But in terms of emotion, theatre and respect, arguably the core principles of a haka on a rugby field, it remains very hard to beat.
England v All Blacks