KEY POINTS:
With all the excitement surrounding the Rugby World Cup, there is one thing the All Blacks don't seem to be excited about at all - singing our national anthem.
As those stirring bars of God Defend New Zealand play, most of the boys in black keep their mouths
firmly closed and their eyes firmly open - in stark contrast to many other teams, who sing their national tune loudly and proudly.
The lack of Kiwi warbling has prompted viewers to wonder what the problem is: do our rugby heroes not know the words, or are they too preoccupied with their impending game to bother with the preamble?
All Black loose forward Jerry Collins told an interviewer after the team's victory over Scotland he was too busy thinking about everyone at home to sing the anthem.
Sara Chatwin, a psychologist with Mindworks Psychological Services, who has done a lot of work with sportspeople, said elite athletes wanted to concentrate on their game plan before the match.
"It's probably a slightly big ask for them to be totally focused on the national anthem."
Chatwin said the rugby players' minds might be doing a thousand different things, or be purely focused on their performance - the anthem would be the last thing on their agenda. "Then again, maybe they just don't like singing or aren't very good at it."
Former All Black captain Ian Kirkpatrick agreed that whether players sang or not was a personal decision, but the lack of enthusiasm was probably because they had bigger things to worry about.
"Some countries, they close their eyes and cry and really sing, but I think it's New Zealand's way to be concentrating on what's ahead of them. It's not because they haven't got respect for the anthem."
Kirkpatrick said times had changed since he played for the national side from 1967-1977. He thought the boys in black would focus on the game plan as he used to, rather than try to remember lyrics and tunes.
"Once you get out on the ground, all you want to do is play."
As for those few enthusiastic singers, Chatwin said they may have their own "superstitious" behaviours, like wearing a particular shirt, to ensure a win.
However, long-time singing teacher Judith Howlett, said it was "not a good look" for our national team to be closed-mouthed during the anthem. "If they are prepared to be accepted as an All Black, they need to be prepared to sing our national anthem."
She said the tune was not a challenging song to sing, and suggested a few more might need to learn the words.
Chatwin agreed, saying while the athletes' focus had to be on the game "we can't forget that they go overseas into an international arena to represent our country".
Although she conceded it was the haka which the team pours national pride into, that was probably more indicative of how they felt pre-match. "They use that as the final way to fire themselves up. The anthem might be a bit of an anti-climax."
