The new formation of the All Blacks' Ka Mate haka surprised many fans. Photo / Getty Images
The new formation of the All Blacks' Ka Mate haka surprised many fans. Photo / Getty Images
The All Blacks surprised millions of worldwide rugby fans when they unveiled a new Ka Mate haka formation before their clash with Argentina.
The new triangular shape followed a team visit to the Ngati Toa marae in Wellington during a pre-Rugby World Cup camp. But team members are refusing to reveal the origins of the new arrangement or say what meaning it gives to the electrifying war dance.
The formation saw captain Richie McCaw at the front of the challenge, with fellow experienced players Kieran Read and Ma'a Nonu behind him and the rest of the team fanning out in rows behind them depending on seniority.
The formation is reminiscent of the French challenge to the haka in the last World Cup final at Eden Park when the Tricolours formed behind their captain Thierry Dusautoir.
Asked about the new-look haka, midfielder Conrad Smith declined to reveal details.
"It's just something we discussed as a team," Smith said. "That's about it. We obviously had a bit of time in New Zealand before we went away and it's something we wanted to do but that's about all I want to say."
Lock Brodie Retallick said the new shape was locked in as a change before the All Blacks departed for England.
"It is something we talked about way back in the camp in Wellington," he told Fairfax Media. "Obviously, we also spent a wee bit of time out at the marae.
"We thought it was something we would do for this group and it brought us together. So it is the way we will be doing - that is going to be the formation of the haka going forward."
Ka Mate was composed by Te Rauparaha of Ngati Toa to commemorate his escape from death during an incident circa the 1820s. The name is simply translated to mean "it is death, it is death".
A pre-game haka is a rugby tradition that dates back to 1888 when the New Zealand Native team performed it during their tour of the UK, and by the "Original" All Blacks in 1905. The All Blacks initially performed Ka Mate as pre-match entertainment.
Eng v Fiji trumps ABs
The Rugby World Cup opener between England and Fiji had more combined viewers in New Zealand than any other match so far, including the All Blacks v Argentina game on Monday morning.
The Twickenham fixture at 7am on Saturday morning on Sky Sport 1 had 5.5 per cent of all people aged 5 years and older in New Zealand watching, which equates to more than 230,000 viewers.
Another 4.4 per cent - more than 182,000 viewers - tuned in to the opening game screened live on Prime.
However, despite being in the early hours of Monday morning, the All Blacks and Argentina game on Sky Sport 1 was the most watched on a single channel - attracting 5.9 per cent between 3.47am and 5.37am. This is more than 247,000 viewers.
Prime did not have live action of this game but its delayed coverage at midday got 2.1 per cent, which is more than 87,000 people watching the free-to-air coverage.
The fourth most watched game was a replay of Japan's upset over South Africa at 6.30pm on Sunday night on Sky Sport 1. This had 2.5 per cent, or over 105,000 viewers.
Other high-viewership games included France v Italy live on Sky Sport 1 on Sunday morning and a replay of All Blacks v Argentina on the same channel at 6.30am on Monday morning. Both received more than 87,000 viewers.
The figures - sourced from Nielsen TV Audience Measurement - are based on a national audience of 4,200,882.
Sky Television declined to comment on whether its subscriber numbers had increased because of its broadcasting of the Rugby World Cup.
Meanwhile, the Guardian reported that ITV figures in Britain peaked at 9.4 million viewers, with an average of 7.8 million, for England's opening match against Fiji at the weekend. This makes it the most watched sporting event in Britain this year. The newspaper reported that more than four in 10 people watching TV at the time were tuned in to the World Cup opener.
- Scott Yeoman
1935 book for sale
The 1935 All Blacks album will be auctioned.
The 1935 All Blacks album will be auctioned.
Richie McCaw has stressed to his players the importance of remembering those who have worn the famed black jersey before them.
As the All Blacks strive to make history and win consecutive world cups, a timely reminder of the team's history has surfaced.
An album remembering the 1935 All Blacks team, which toured Britain and Ireland, is going under the hammer.
The bound book contains 30 signed, black-and-white portrait photos of every team member who embarked on the gruelling five-month tour.
The tour, which stretched into 1936 and stopped over in Canada on the way back, featured 30 matches, with four tests against England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.
The inside front cover shows it once belonged to Mr S. S. Dean and is stamped N.Z. Union ... P.O. Box ... Wellington. It goes under the hammer at Cordy's Auctioneers in Auckland on October 6, with a reserve of $850.
The anniversary of New Zealand's worst military catastrophe is being marked near the scene with a rugby game between the New Zealand Defence Force and Belgium.
The defence team, the Defence Blacks, will play at Zonnebeke, a Belgian town near Tyne Cot cemetery. The World War I cemetery includes the graves of 520 New Zealand soldiers, 322 of them unidentified. A memorial wall at the rear of the 3.5ha cemetery commemorates 1176 New Zealanders who have no known grave and were casualties of conflict on the Western Front.
The October 3 game has been billed as the Dave Gallaher Memorial Tournament after the captain of the "Originals", the national side that toured Britain in 1905-06.
Gallaher was fatally wounded on October 4, 1917, during the Passchendaele offensive. He was among the 484 New Zealanders cut down in the battle for Broodseinde, which was seen as a "success" for the British-led forces.
Worse was to follow barely a week later. The First Battle of Passchendaele, on October 12, cost the lives of 845 New Zealanders, the blackest day in the country's military history.
After the Defence Blacks play Belgium on October 3, a memorial ceremony will be held the following day.
