New Zealand haka has lost its impact from overuse: former All Black

A former All Black who struck fear into his opponents with a ferocious haka believes the war cry has now lost its mana.

Kees Meeuws, a veteran of 42 Tests between 1998 and 2004, fears the haka is being overused by the All Blacks and says it has become more about the brand and commercial aspect than its intended purpose.

All Blacks legend Kees Meeuws fears New Zealand's haka has lost its impact.Credit: PA

Meeuws said All Blacks fans love watching the haka and he acknowledges it's part of the All Blacks legacy but said measures need to be put in place to protect its mana. The simplest way to do that is to reduce how many times it is performed.

The former All Blacks prop is proposing a radical reduction in the number of matches the haka is performed in by limiting it to either just home or away games or matches of special significance.

But are New Zealanders ready for the All Blacks without the haka? Meeuws said everybody wants to see All Blacks expressing themselves and he fears overuse of the haka could see some players not doing it justice.

"The last thing any of us want to see is players doing the haka just for the sake of it," Meeuws said.

Meeuws concerns of haka overload – raised in a new book The Jersey written by British journalist Peter Bills – were also shared by the late All Black legend Sir Colin Meads.

In the book, Meeuws said of the haka: "It has lost its mana. It has become a showpiece."

Meads, who died in August last year aged 81, said, there was too much emphasis on the haka. "We were haka-ed out there for a while and still are," Meads said in The Jersey.

Meeuws said there was no doubt the haka was no longer feared by opposition teams who have seen it all before.

For players who were facing the haka for the first time it was an intimidating yet awesome experience, Meeuws said. "That's how the haka should be, it should be something that is revered."

But for South African and Australian players who can front a haka two or three times a year, the impact of it was gone.

The Wallabies get more chances than most to stare down an All Blacks haka.Credit: Anthony Johnson

"If an Australian or South African player has played 50 tests he's probably faced the haka well over a dozen times," Meeuws said.

He said there was always the danger that the haka could become a bit tiresome for All Blacks who were doing the haka 13 or 15 times a year over a career that could span for more than a decade.

But Meeuws said the revelation from All Blacks halfback Aaron Smith that he stood himself down from leading the haka because he had lost respect following his public toilet tryst was a refreshing take on the respect Smith has for the All Blacks haka.

"I was one of the first to say, 'I should not be doing it', and that is what happened," Smith said in The Jersey. "It's a part of the mana, isn't it? You lose mana when you do things like that. TJ Perenara took over and I was happy for him to do that because of the mana I had lost from what I had done," Smith said in an extract of The Jersey repurposed in the New Zealand Herald.

Smith standing himself down shows performing the haka is still an ultimate privilege for most All Blacks Meeuws said. "For him to do that, that's unreal," Meeuws said.

Traditionally the All Blacks only performed the haka prior to matches outside of New Zealand. But that changed in 1987 when Wayne [Buck] Shelford and Hika Reid became driving forces in making the Ka Mate haka a home game staple.

Meeuws said there has been a real focus on the haka in the last couple of decades but it was mostly commercial. "We need to be really careful it doesn't lose its mana," Meeuws said.

New Zealand Sevens players do a shirtless haka after winning the 2018 World Cup.Credit: AP

Meeuws' option of not performing the haka before every Test is sure to be polarising but he does have another option that could prove a more palatable compromise.

"Maybe it's time to introduce a third one to keep people guessing and get them talking about the haka again.

Ka Mate was performed by All Blacks for more than a century but in August 2005 before a Tri-Nations test against South Africa at Carisbrook the All Blacks unleashed Kapa O Pango.

"When that was introduced people were excited about the haka and talking about which one they might be doing before each Test," Meeuws said.

Speaking from a players perspective, Meeuws said it was vitally important to maintain the mana and respect for the haka and not let it become too commercialised.

"As a player, you hold it in such high regard but you definitely don't want it to become a commercial thing where it's overdone for the wrong reasons."

A new haka would also prove a new challenge for opposition players.

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