All Blacks Haka: Why teams are no longer allowed to advance during the cultural challenge
Sebastien Chabal challenges the Haka in 2007 and Richard Cockerill squares up with All Blacks hooker Norm Hewitt.
Gone are the days of teams fronting up against the All Blacks’ Haka and getting up close and personal with the New Zealanders during the cultural challenge, but why is that the case?
The intimidating image of Sebastien Chabal and his French teammates staring down the Haka before the 2007 Rugby World Cup quarter-final is burnt into the memories of so many fans.
Meanwhile, many will remember Springboks enforcer Kobus Wiese challenging the All Blacks before the 1995 Rugby World Cup and the same applies to England fans and Richard Cockerill seeking out Norm Hewitt two years later.
For Irish fans, Willie Anderson will always be synonymous with the greatest responses to the Haka while Tongans and Samoans, in particular, will remember the epic cultural challenges performed at the same time back in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Why teams no longer advance towards the Haka
However, these examples are all well over a decade or two old and there is a reason for that, World Rugby regulations.
In 2021, a clip of Samoa and Tonga performing their cultural challenges ahead of their clash in the Rugby League World Cup went viral as the two sides squared up with players a mere metre away from one another – if that – but that is not possible in rugby union.
This is because World Rugby does not allow it, restricting teams to their own halves when cultural challenges are performed.
This is explained in World Rugby’s Match Commissioner Programme guide where it clearly states that the team not performing a challenge may cross the halfway line while the opposition may not cross their 10m line.
“Where only one team is performing a challenge, no player from the team performing the challenge may cross their own 10m line and no player from the team receiving the challenge may cross the halfway line,” the guide reads.
When teams do not adhere to the regulations, as was the case during the 2019 World Cup semi-final when Joe Marler and his England teammates progressed past the halfway line, they can be fined by rugby’s governing body – England were fined £2000 in this case.
These rules do not only apply to the All Blacks’ Haka but also Samoa’s Siva Tua, Tonga’s Sipi Tau and Fiji’s Cibi.
As noted by New Zealand writer Jamie Wall, these regulations are in place for a rather “bland” reason, so the broadcasters and photographers can get a better image of the challenge.
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Probably worth reminding people (yet again) just why WR a has rule around teams advancing on the haka, and it's a pretty bland reason: so they can get this image/camera angle for publication/broadcast. pic.twitter.com/zpzA91v7wQ
— Jamie Wall (@JamieWall2) October 30, 2024
There are many who believe that cultural challenges should not be performed before matches as teams are forced to “entertain it” but this is not the case as the guide adds: “It is not mandatory for the team receiving the challenge to face it.”
Ahead of one of the 1996 Bledisloe Cup Tests, Australia opted to continue their warm-up while the All Blacks performed the Haka, a decision that Wallabies captain John Eales said that he regretted, while former winger David Campese did the same in 1991.
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In the event that two teams wish to perform a challenge, which is the case when two of New Zealand, Samoa, Fiji and Tonga face off, they must be separated by at least 10 metres.
“Where both teams are performing challenges, one team may not cross halfway and the other team may not cross their own 10m line – so the teams are always separated by at least ten metres,” it states on World Rugby’s official website.
Modern responses to cultural challenges
While the laws now prevent teams from advancing towards the cultural challenges, opposing teams have come up with alternative ways to respond.
England formed a V-shape in 2019 but simply did it too close to the All Blacks which led to their fine. However, in 2008 Wales simply stared down the Haka and refused to be the first team to break eye contact and move once it was completed.
In recent years, the Wallabies have formed a boomerang shape while Ireland have paid tribute to the late Anthony Foley by forming a figure eight.
