All Blacks considered ditching Ka Mate haka - report

The All Blacks considered ditching the Ka Mate haka shortly after Graham Henry took over as coach, Britain's Daily Telegraph has reported.

A decade ago, many All Blacks felt that the haka was no longer appropriate, All Blacks mental skills coach Gilbert Enoka Enoka told the Telegraph.

"Back when Graham Henry took over in 2004 we went through a period we were asking questions about the haka," Enoka told the Telegraph in an interview published today.

"A lot of the guys said 'hang on, I'm not sure if we even want to do it any more. Perhaps this is no longer for us.'

Enoka said the haka was at that time "acting as a distraction before kick-off as film crews rammed microphones and cameras ever closer to the players' faces."

Management and senior leaders, led by Tana Umaga, held discussions on how the haka could be maintained and kept relevant and consultations were held with Ngati Toa.

It was decided decided to commission Derek Lardelli, an expert in Maori customs, to compose a new haka tailored specifically for the All Blacks - Kapa o Pango.

"We spent a lot of time talking about what it meant to be an All Black and what it meant to be a New Zealander," Enoka said. "Some people had lost sight of that and we learnt that personal meaning is powerfully connected to performance. We spent a year working on that identity and that's how Kapa o Pango was born out of the nourishing and understanding of what it meant to be an All Black and to be a New Zealander."

Yesterday, the Telegraph's chief sports writer Oliver Brown described the haka as a sad circus display in an opinion piece ahead of the All Blacks v England match at Twickenham this weekend.