Four former Kiwis have laid down a traditional challenge to the All Blacks.
Former New Zealand players Doug Howlett, Rua Tipoki, Lifeimi Mafi and Jeremy Manning performed the Kamate Kamate haka while their team mates locked arms in support behind them.
The All Blacks respectfully stood and accepted
the challenge.
Once the quartet had completed their challenge - to rapturous applause - a hush descended over the ground as the All Blacks, led by captain Piri Weepu, replied with a flawless performance of Ka Mate.
There had been suggestion last week that Munster's ex-pats would respond to the haka.
Instead, they got in first when Tipoki, a former New Zealand Maori captain, motioned the New Zealanders forward from their teammates.
Howlett, who played 62 tests for the All Blacks before joining Munster last season, and Mafi, a former Taranaki midfielder, joined Tipoki while the least known New Zealander, Manning, who played in Wellington before relocating to Cork, was at the right end of the chain.
The New Zealand quartet's challenge represented the most stirring pre-match interlude involving the haka since Willie Anderson famously shuffled his side towards the All Blacks in Dublin in 1989, with the Irish captain ending up eyeballing his counterpart Wayne Shelford.
- NZ HERALD STAFF, NZPA
