THE Rugby Union World Cup came to a nerve-tingling conclusion with the All Blacks’ 8-7 win over France, so it really didn’t need a rather daft post script.
France were fined £2,500 for advancing on the New Zealand haka before Sunday’s final.
Seemingly Les Bleus were supposed to remain behind the 10-metre line in their own half but instead advanced towards the All Blacks in a v-formation.
So it would appear there is one rule for certain nations and another rule for all the others.
While New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga and the other South Sea Islanders are all at liberty to throw down the gauntlet with their tribal dances that include choreography depicting cutting the opposition’s throats, the rest of the rugby playing nations apparently can’t do anything even slightly aggressive – and just how threatening was walking forward as the French did – without the risk of being fined.
Maybe it is about time the other nations dug deep into history and came up with some ‘folk’ dances of their own to perform before matches.
For a start the Scots are known for their sword dances, so they could even justify taking offensive weapons on to the pitch.
It would be interesting to see how the International Rugby Board would rule on that one!
