https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OA_-fqWq70Q
Ok, we’ll admit the traditional music makes it look more ridiculous than it should but still…
Love it or loathe it, there’s no doubting that the Haka in its current form has had a psychological effect on opposition teams going up against the All-Blacks over the years.
There are some who rise to it, but there are others who are very much intimidated and it’s hard to blame them when you see the likes of Piri Weepu making a throat-slashing gesture while looking maniacally in your direction.
That is now, however, but it seems as if the Haka was very different 30 years ago, very different indeed if the video above, sent into us by Conor O’Donoghue, is anything to go by.
The footage comes from a 1973 clash between the All-Blacks and the Barbarians and seems less like a traditional war dance and more like a bunch of auld lads dancing awkwardly at a wedding before they’ve had the chance to get a few pints on board.
Some might say that this version of the haka is scarier than the real thing, but if Paul O’Connell and company can picture this in their heads while the All-Blacks are doing the haka at the Aviva on Sunday then they’ll be off to a great start.
Hat-tip to Conor O’Donoghue for sending this one into us
