Gone are the days of teams taking on the All Blacks Haka and getting up close and personal with New Zealanders during the cultural challenge, but why is this?

The intimidating image of Sebastien Chabal and his French teammates watching the Haka before the 2007 Rugby World Cup quarter-finals is etched in the memories of many fans.

Meanwhile, many will remember Springboks enforcer Kobus Wiese challenging the All the black people before the 1995 Rugby World Cup and the same applies to England fans and Richard Cockerill pursuing Norm Hewitt two years later.

For Irish fans, Willie Anderson will always be synonymous with the best responses to the Haka, while Tongans and Samoans in particular will remember the epic cultural challenges performed at the same time in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Why teams no longer advance towards the Haka

However, all of these examples are more than a decade or two old and there is a reason for that, world rugby regulations.

In 2021, a clip of Samoa and Tonga performing their cultural challenges ahead of their Rugby League World Cup clash went viral as the two teams faced off with players just one meter away from each other, if that. that, but that is not possible in rugby union.

This is because World Rugby does not allow it, restricting teams to their own fields when running cultural challenges.

This is explained in the World Rugby Match Commissioners Program guidance, where it is clearly stated that the team not making a challenge can cross the halfway line, while the opponent cannot cross their 10 meter line.

“When only one team makes a challenge, no player on the team making the challenge may cross their own 10-metre line and no player on the team receiving the challenge may cross the halfway line,” the guidance says.

When teams fail to comply with regulations, as was the case during the 2019 World Cup semi-final when Joe Marler and his England teammates advanced beyond the halfway line, they can be fined by rugby’s governing body. England was fined £2000 in this case.

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These rules not only apply to the All Blacks Haka, but also to the Siva Tua of Samoa, the Sipi Tau of Tonga and the Cibi of Fiji.

As New Zealand writer Jamie Wall noted, these regulations exist for a rather “nonsensical” reason, so that broadcasters and photographers can get a better image of the challenge.

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It’s probably worth reminding people (once again) why WR a has rules about teams advancing in the haka, and it’s a pretty lame reason: so they can get this image/camera angle for their post/broadcast . pic.twitter.com/zpzA91v7wQ

—Jamie Wall (@JamieWall2) October 30, 2024

There are many who believe that cultural challenges should not be carried out before games since the teams are forced to “entertain themselves”, but this is not how the guide adds: “It is not mandatory for the team that receives the challenge to face it” .

Before one of the 1996 Bledisloe Cup Tests, Australia opted to continue their warm-up while the All Blacks performed the Haka, a decision Wallabies captain John Eales said he regretted, while former winger David Campese He did the same in 1991.

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In the event that two teams want to carry out a challenge, as is the case when two from New Zealand, Samoa, Fiji and Tonga face each other, they must be separated by at least 10 meters.

“When both teams perform challenges, one team cannot cross the halfway line and the other team cannot cross its own 10-meter line, so the teams are always at least ten meters apart,” it states on the website. World Rugby official.

Modern responses to cultural challenges

While laws now prevent teams from moving forward on cultural challenges, opposing teams have come up with alternative ways to respond.

England formed a V in 2019 but simply did so too close to the All Blacks, leading to their fine. However, in 2008 Wales simply stared at the Haka and refused to be the first team to break eye contact and move once it was completed.

In recent years, the Wallabies have formed a boomerang shape, while Ireland have paid tribute to the late Anthony Foley by forming a figure eight.

READ MORE: New Zealand hits back at ‘low IQ’ Joe Marler over haka outburst as English star deletes social media account after backlash