UNTIL MONDAY Haka`s throat gesture `has no place in sport`

THE PRESS, Christchurch
Friday, October 21, 2011 NEWS A9
Haka’s throat gesture
‘has no place in sport’
Captain James Cook: ‘There
was not a man aboard
Endeavour who, in the event
of the ship’s breaking up,
would not have preferred to
drown rather than be left to
the mercy of the Maoris’.’’
Sheehan says it is a week
when an ‘‘entire nation [New
Zealand]’’ has an ‘‘immense
emotional stake’’ in the
outcome of the final match
against France. ‘‘Too much
invested, in fact. Thankfully,
Australia’s hopes and passions are spread across multiple sports. We have already
moved on from the World
Cup. New Zealand must live
and die with its All Blacks.
‘‘Had the Wallabies won
the game, and were now
playing for a record third
World Cup championship on
Sunday, it would have caused
a psychic scar across New
Zealand.
‘‘Not just a passing funk,
but a real resentment that
would have lasted years.’’
UNTIL MONDAY
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Kapa O Pango: The throat-slitting gesture at the end of the haka is again
under fire.
Photo: PETER MEECHAM/FAIRFAX NZ
Sheehan said he expected
the All Blacks to dominate
Sunday’s final, but New
Zealanders should remember
two things: ‘‘About 96 per cent
of the world does not care
about rugby; and the violence
suggested by throat-slitting
gestures has no place in sport
or sportsmanship, especially
in the national colours.’’
Haka expert Kahu Ropata
said Sheehan’s comments
showed his lack of understanding. Ropata said the gesture was about signalling a
challenge and ‘‘leaving everything that you have out on the
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Photo: STACY SQUIRES/FAIRFAX NZ
CRFU chief executive
officer Hamish Riach said the
final position for the statue
could be AMI Stadium.
The rugby-themed sculpture by Paris artist Laurence
Bonnel was given to Canterbury’s rugby community
after the earthquakes and for
the Rugby World Cup.
Former French rugby captain Jean-Francois Tordo,
who heads Les Amoureux du
Rugby, worked with the
sculptor.
Douillet said the French
and the All Blacks would each
‘‘give everything they have’’
to win Sunday’s game.
‘‘This sport will bind them
together,’’ he said.
Shirley-Papanui
Community Board chairman
Chris Mene got a laugh when
he noted the statue’s shoes
looked larger than those worn
by Crusaders and All Blacks
No 8 Keiran Read.
Mene presented Douillet
with photographic books of
Christchurch and a shirt
bearing a Maori-inspired
image of a ‘‘warrior spirit’’.
Christchurch
French
honorary consul Martine
Marshall-Durieux said the
sculpture had a ‘‘definite
woman’s touch’’.
‘‘It’s a wonderful fixture
for the city,’’ she said.
Douillet, who will be
present at the World Cup
final, said he was honoured to
show France’s ongoing support to Canterbury.
‘‘Relations between France
and New Zealand have gone
far beyond rugby.’’
The relationship between
France and New Zealand
would be ‘‘as beautiful’’ after
this Sunday’s game. He hoped
many people, including children, would visit the statue.
Couple black and blue over cup clash
A married couple from
Blenheim have divided
loyalties in Sunday’s World
Cup final, but can agree on
one thing – revenge is sweet.
Payback will come in one
form or another for Nicolas
and Shana Perez.
French hubby Nicolas said
the rugby showdown at Eden
Park would be retribution for
the 1987 final, which saw the
All Blacks lift their only Webb
Ellis Trophy.
However, his Kiwi bride
said the clash was revenge for
the 1999 and 2007 defeats at
the hands of the French.
‘‘I remember after we lost
the 2007 match I started
crying, it was awful.’’ Shana
said. ‘‘It’s payback.’’
Nicolas will be feeling
decidedly outnumbered as his
wife has invited her entire
family over for the match.
‘‘We’re going to have
separate couches,’’ Shana
said. ‘‘It will be very tense and
Nico probably won’t talk to
me on Monday.’’
However, Nicolas had a
warning for over-confident
All Blacks fans.
‘‘Every single Kiwi I know
likes to take the p..s out of the
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‘Cup’s at stake, but not our love’
French Sport Minister David
Douillet has presented the
people of Canterbury with
L’Enjeu (At Stake).
Canterbury Rugby Football Union (CRFU) members
gathered at Rugby Park
yesterday for the presentation. L’Enjeu, a 2.3-metre
high, 360-kilogram resin
statue, gifted by French
association Les Amoureux du
Rugby (Rugby Lovers), will be
placed temporarily at the
park before being moved to a
permanent site.
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Allons: French Sport Minister David Douillet presents the rugby-themed statue L’Enjeu (At Stake).
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This is serious: Frenchman Nicolas Perez and his Kiwi bride Shana are
Photo: SCOTT HAMMOND
expecting a tense World Cup final on Sunday.
French,’’ he said. ‘‘I wonder if
they are secretly scared. You
never know with France, they
haven’t played their best
game yet and could surprise a
few people.’’
Shana, who works at Clubs
of Marlborough, quickly
reminded her husband of the
teams’ encounter during the
group stages of the
competition.
But Nicolas believes that
defeat was strategic, so the
pair could meet again in the
final.
His wife was unconvinced.
‘‘I have no doubt the All
Blacks will win,’’ she said.
‘‘They are playing magic and
although it’s sad Dan Carter
can’t play, it is a team sport.
Piri Weepu is the man and
I’m a big Corey Jane fan, he
was on fire in the last game.’’
Nicolas, who sells houses
for Summit, conceded he
would love France to win but
couldn’t see it happening.
‘‘I’ve been supporting
France all the way but I’m not
stupid,’’ he said. ‘‘Besides I’m
not sure it would be good for
my job, I might not sell any
more houses.’’
But the couple will win no
matter what happens in
Sunday’s final. Nicolas’
second team are the All
Blacks and likewise for Shana
with the French.
‘‘It would probably be
more upsetting for Shana if
she loses,’’ said Nicolas.
‘‘Because of everything
that has happened here, what
with the earthquakes, and
how New Zealand have
played so far they probably
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deserve the win.’’
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PR17CP_FRI
The All Blacks need to dump
the throat-slitting gesture at
the end of the Kapa O Pango
haka as it reminds people that
Maori ‘‘once engaged in
unspeakable conduct’’, an
Australian columnist says.
Sydney Morning Herald
journalist Paul Sheehan
writes that ‘‘the violence suggested by throat-slitting
gestures has no place in sport
or sportsmanship, especially
in the national colours’’.
In an opinion piece about
simple gestures meaning a lot
in the world of sports,
Sheehan says that ‘‘just before
kickoff the All Blacks will
perform the greatest ritual in
world sport, the haka’’.
However, he warns the
team and its management
might want to consider what
exactly they are symbolising.
‘‘If some of the All Blacks
persist in ending this latest
version of the haka with a
throat-slitting motion, they
will be using a very big stage
to remind people the Maoris
once engaged in unspeakable
conduct, which we don’t
discuss any more.
‘‘I’ll simply allude to this
by quoting the journal of