Haka lifts friend and foe

Outlaw the haka? You could have slapped John Hart in the face with a wet fish. "That's the only time I've seen or heard it," the New Zealand coach said, before defending "part of our preparation, part of our culture and part of what the All Blacks are about. We'll certainly be doing the haka tomorrow, and doing it with a lot of passion."

Besides, if the truth be told, the Lansdowne Road crowd would be disappointed if they were denied the sight of the game's most entertaining pre-match pageant.

Irish captain Keith Wood said of the notion that it ought to be outlawed: "That's rubbish. I would consider that part of their tradition. They can do whatever they want to be honest."

New Zealand legend has it that the Haka was written by a Maori chief, Te Rauparaha, of the Ngati Toa tribe on the west coast. He fled from a band of warriors and hid underground in a kumara (sweet potato) pit. Soon after a Maori woman sat on top of the kumara pit. Convinced he was going to die, he emerged hours later to find that his pursuers had vanished.

Indeed, knowledge of the actual wording would be more inclined to make opponents laugh than feel intimidated. The Maori wording, with rough English translation (according to a Maori cultural television producer whom I spoke to yesterday) is as follows:

Kamate Kamate Ka Ora Ka Ora (I may die, I may die, I may live, I may live)

Kamate Kamate Ka Ora Ka Ora (I may die, I may die, I may live, I may live)

Tenei Te Tangata Puhuru Huru (I am the warrior who sits in hiding)

Nana E Tiki Atu Whaka Whiti Te Ra. (All I can see is the crotch of a woman after which the sun shines on me)

A Hupane A Hupane (Thank God, Thank God)

A Hupane Kaupane Whiti Te Ra (Thank God the sun shines on me)

Hei. (Take that).