The English Rugby Football Union has been fined a sum of £2,500 for the V shaped formation standing up to New Zealand’s Haka in Saturday’s Rugby World Cup Semi Final.
World Rugby has been promoting the video clip of the incident and has garnered almost 5 million views on its official YouTube channel.
It did technically break a rule though by encroaching beyond the half way line while the ritual was being performed.
Irish fans reacted with a rendition of the Fields of Athenry during the previous weekend’s Quarter Final but without incurring any fine.
It does beg the question though of why New Zealand, alone among the top tier of Rugby playing countries, should be given such a protected advantage in the immediate moments before a game.
What furore would there be if Kilkenny hurlers or Dublin footballers were permitted, and actively encouraged, to go through a ritual that fired them up and forced their opponents to stand still and have them ‘in their faces’ at such a crucial moment.
We understand that it has a cultural significance but does not every country have something similar. It is recognised in sport through the singing of national anthems, or Ireland’s Call, but that is equal for all.
The Haka provides an extra edge to games involving New Zealand, but it is an edge that in psychological and perhaps even physiological terms does give an advantage to the All Blacks.
To go to such an extent that specific rules have to cater for it being performed and pre-match timings have to be adjusted to accommodate it seems strange in a world where fairness and equality are held to be important.
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