Australia and New Zealand endorse the haka
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Ahead of the first Bledisloe Cup Test this weekend both Australia and New Zealand endorsed the place of the haka.
This comes after reported comments in a rugby book questioned the value of the haka in the modern era but support from the All Blacks was matched by the Wallabies, who are also looking for a more extensive indigenous recognition for their jersey in future.
After All Blacks' coach Steve Hansen's defence of the haka, said flanker Sam Cane: "The only article I've seen around it was on Kees Meeuws and we've been informed that unfortunately he was misquoted so that's a shame.
"But from an All Blacks point of view we love doing the haka. We do a light run through at captain's run and then we bust it out on Saturday and it's like the final touches of we're ready to go.
"We're well aware of the strong history that it has and it's part of who we are as All Blacks – it's as strong and powerful as ever, in my opinion," he said.
Wallaby halfback Will Genia jumped to the All Blacks defence saying he didn't believe the haka was over-commercialised.
"They don't do it for commercial purpose. They do it because it is something that is important to them in terms of their culture.
"From our perspective, we have an incredible amount of respect for it," he said.
"It's special in that regard. How much it is used, that's up to them," he said.
"It's our tradition, it's our history," he said.
"That's just the way we prepare for a Test match. I think it's a massive privilege to be able to do the haka and it would be odd if we weren't to do that before a game."
