Rugby: All Blacks prop Kane Hames hits back at Facebook meme

Kane Hames. Photo / Photosport

Rookie All Blacks prop Kane Hames has hit back at criticism over his scrummaging for the second time in as many weeks by taking aim at Facebook users poking fun at his performance in his first start against the Springboks in Albany over the weekend.

The Facebook group 'Super Rugby memes for severely concussed teens' on Wednesday posted a meme suggesting Hames' performance in the set piece against the Boks was anything but convincing - after the 29-year-old Chiefs front rower was last week involved in a similar verbal joust with a reporter in the lead-up to the match at QBE Stadium.

Hames took exception to the meme, responding with the laughing and middle finger emojis, before engaging with some commenters.

At last week's press conference, Hames called out a writer who questioned his scrummaging ability by saying: "He said I'm not a renowned scrummager, so when I'm not scrummaging I guess I'll be trying to win the battle in the air and work on my speed on the outside channels."

Hames, who ironically had been selected purely because of his destructive ability in the set piece, wasn't finished there, either.

Asked if he wanted to prove people wrong, he said: "In this environment it's never about proving anyone wrong, it's about putting processes and systems in place to make sure that everything goes right.

"I know that your job is to write a whole lot of things and that's great. We've got to do a whole lot of research to make sure we get it right and it would be great if you could too."

His tour de force had teammate Dane Coles in stitches, but he flatterred to decieve on the park on Saturday, being subbed after 43 minutes.

Hames could get another chance to perform next week, after being named in the All Blacks squad to travel to Argentina.