All Blacks
New Zealand will try to keep their title defence bid alive when they face South Africa in the semifinal round of the 2015 Rugby World Cup at Twickenham Stadium on Sunday. Reuters/Nigel Marple

England’s 2003 World Cup winner Matt Dawson has poked fun at the Haka of New Zealand, producing his own version of the ancestral war cry dance called the “Hakarena.” But the All Blacks have laughed off Dawson’s attempt to de-power the ritual, with hooker Keven Mealamu focusing on the more important things ahead of the Kiwis’ bid to defend their Rugby World Cup title.

The All Blacks have brushed off Dawson’s choreographed video of the Haka combined with the 1994 dance hit the “Macarena.” Mealamu, who also plays as hooker for NSW Blues, found the controversial video “funny,” but the 36-year-old Kiwi rugby star insisted New Zealand has got bigger things to worry about in their World Cup campaign.

"It's his view on the way he sees it, but it's quite special to us as All Blacks and as representatives of New Zealand,” Mealamu said, reports Radio NZ. “It's something we're proud of. It's our tradition and our culture.”

In the video, Dawson starts with the actions so often seen on the rugby field, and mixes it with the hit dance associated with the 90s tune. Dawson, a retired English rugby union player, led the way, backed by team-mates from the Battersea Ironsides rugby club.

However, not everyone was pleased at the off-field antics Dawson staged. According to the National Post, a New Zealand camp insider reported that some of the All Blacks were deeply unimpressed with Dawson’s mocking display, believing that the video belittled the profound cultural significance of the Maori war dance to New Zealanders.

Sir Pita Sharples, the former co-leader of the Maori Party in New Zealand, said that Dawson was “shameful” to mock the haka dance, which is done as a way of recognizing the worth of an enemy.

“The haka is very meaningful to us,” Sharples said. “To mimic it and bring it into ridicule deliberately is, to me, insulting.”

World No.1 New Zealand will start to defend their title against Argentina at Wembley Stadium on Sept. 20. The All Blacks are also joined by Georgia, Namibia, and Tonga in the group stage of the quadrennial rugby tournament.

Video courtesy: Youtube/Jacamo

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