England prop Joe Marler has described the haka as "ridiculous" and that it "needs binning" ahead of the Test at Twickenham.
Marler made the comments on social media this morning.
The All Blacks' haka is traditionally criticised in England ahead of a Test against New Zealand but it's normally done via a newspaper column.
It means Marler, who broke a foot when playing for England in the first of the nation's two Test defeats in New Zealand in July, an injury which has kept him on the sidelines, is at least coming from a new perspective.
In a post on X, the outspoken Marler wrote: "The Haka needs binning. It's ridiculous."
He did add by way of context, however: "It's only any good when teams actually front it with some sort of reply. Like the league boys did last week."
That is a reference to Toa Samoa's challenge against England in the recent league Test at Wigan, won 34-18 by the home side in a game marred by a big second-half brawl.
Before the Test the England team stood face to face with Samoa as the visitors did their traditional siva tau challenge, with Samoa's hooker Gordon Chan Kum Tong, who plays for Manly, and England's halfback Mikey Lewis literally butting heads.
The intense clash has renewed calls for opponents to stand up to the pre-match challenges rather than standing back and watching.
In rugby, opposition teams are generally required to stand at least 10m away from a haka, siva tau, Fijian cibi and Tongan sipi tau.
Marler's social media account was gone by lunchtime, with a note saying: "This post is from an account that no longer exists." It wasn't clear whether the account had been disabled or whether there was a technical issue on the platform.
England play the All Blacks at Twickenham on Sunday at 4.10am NZT and Marler's comments may add spice to the fixture — certainly to the build-up, anyway.
The 34-year-old has built a reputation as a controversial character who has received many bans and fines over the years for foul play and the use of derogatory language against opponents.
SHARE ME