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Tri-Nations Kicks Off With A Bang

// July 9th, 2006 // Interesting // 2,152 views

The All Blacks thumped the Wallabies in the opening match of the Tri-Nations yesterday with a 32-12 victory at Christchurch. And according to Keo, it would have been even more of a bruising had Dan Carter kicked better.

Kapa O Pango – The New Kiwi Haka
That being said, the thing that intrigued me more was all the off-field antics. The All Blacks have a new controversial haka, Kapa O Pango (Team in Black). This was actually the third time that the All Blacks performed the new haka, the first was before the Carisbrook test in Dunedin and in front of the South African squad on the 27th of August 2005.

All hell broke loose when the new haka was unveiled with a throat-cutting gesture at the end. The haka’s composer was quick to point out the gesture did not symbolise the slaughter of opponents but rather the cutting edge of sport and the cleansing of the body. [Download the video clip that explains what Kapa O Pango is all about (7.9MB Wmv).]

Although the new one is not bad, I must admit that I do prefer the original Kamate haka that looks and sounds a lot more menacing than the new one. [Download video clip of the All Blacks performing Kamate on the beach (7.7MB Wmv).]

Handbag Haka
And it seems as though the Aussies have started their slating campaigns by running television advertisements depicting some of the Kiwi’s performing the haka carrying women’s handbags. It refers to an incident when former captain Tana Umaga broke up a fight by hitting fellow All Black Chris Masoe over the head with a woman’s handbag. Masoe apparently burst out in tears after the blow.

Celebrate The Springboks
As you may know, the Sunday Times, sasol delight! and participating Exel shops are running a promotion for avid rugby fans to collect 2006 Springbok pin badges. So look out for new discount vouchers in each issue of the Sunday Times between 9 July and 6 August 2006.

Before leaving for the overseas leg of the Tri-Nations, Springbok coach Jake White said that he was upbeat about the Springboks and have urged critics not to write off the Boks.

“I have to be optimistic,” White told the media gathering. “I am excited about this team and the opportunities that lie ahead for them. For me, this is more like déjà vu because we had lost guys before the Tri-Nations and I had brought in exciting young players and there was a lot of history also against us,” White said of the team’s 2004 triumph.”

I just hope that our injury-plagued Springboks can pull something extraordinary out of the hat for the Tri-Nations. It’s going to be a tough one!

The Tri-Nations Schedule:
08/07 – New Zealand v Australia Christchurch 09.35
15/07 – Australia v South Africa Brisbane 12.00
22/07 – New Zealand v South Africa Wellington 09.35
29/07 – Australia v New Zealand Brisbane 12.00
05/08 – Australia v South Africa Sydney 12.00
19/08 – New Zealand v Australia Auckland 07.30
26/08 – South Africa v New Zealand Pretoria 15.00
02/08 – South Africa v New Zealand Rustenburg 15.00
09/08 – South Africa v Australia Johannesburg 15.00