Opinion
As they prepare to play the All Blacks at Twickenham on Saturday (Sunday morning NZ time) will barbs in the media this week from the England camp unsettle or motivate Scott Robertson’s men?
Unwanted English prop Joe Marler is his country’s agent provocateur-in-chief. Never shy of a word, he has kicked the hornet’s nest by suggesting the All Blacks’ haka, performed before every international, should be stopped-calling it “Ridiculous.”
“The haka needs binning. It’s ridiculous,” Marler wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
An upsurge in negative responses from X users in reply led Marler to remove his account before having a (perhaps pre-planned) change of heart restoring his presence and clarifying his stance.
“It’s only good when some teams actually front it with some sort of reply. Like the league boys did last week,” added Marler, referencing the England League team’s spirited opposition to Samoa’s Siva Tau.
Marler’s attempt at generating hype was shonky but may succeed in tearing a few extra eyeballs away from the Premier League in the UK. There is no doubt the comments would have needled some players in the All Blacks camp and the English should probably expect to face a haka complete with some added ferocity.
While Marler is known to be outspoken, winger Tommy Freeman exhibited sky-high confidence when he said he planned to make the game a “misery” for likely opposite Sevu Reece who had told media he knew little of his opponent:
“Not fussed if they do or don’t know me to be honest. The more you play, the more you’ll get known,” Freeman said.
“Hopefully if I can make his game a misery, it’s a win for me and that will make him remember me.”
While you probably wouldn’t get comment from the current All Blacks regime, England is one of the team’s players of old say they love beating the most. The perception of the Red Roses as a team comprised of wealthy pompous, arrogant public school boys has, in the past, not been far off the mark.
However, this English side is more diverse, and in recent times the image of the old boy’s club politely marginalizing the men from the colonies has softened.
All Black fans will be nervous that the old enemy is more than capable of toppling their side at a ground that has always proven difficult to win at, as 2022’s 25-25 draw will attest.
Couple that with the slim wins recorded at home in June’s internationals and the pressures of touring and the team will be up against it in the West London Coliseum.
The All Blacks’ best chance is to blow the men in white out of the water with a fast start and phase-play that implements expedited ruck speed to nullify the rush defence.
Perhaps a fearsome new haka will drown out the echoes of “swing low, sweet chariot” reverberating around the ground and take the crowd out of play?
We wait in hope.
