Kyle Sinckler has warned his England team mates that nobody will remember them if they get the haka right and the match wrong.
Pre-match chat has focused more on how England will answer New Zealand’s pre-game war dance than on how best to beat the three-time world champions. Sinckler said: “It’s all good doing this and that to the haka but what matters is the business on the field. It’s all good having a V-shape, or whatever it is, but you’ve got to back it up with actions. The main thing is the performance on the pitch.”
Sinckler has faced the All Blacks five times with England and the Lions, losing only twice, and he has spent the week sharing his knowledge with rookie team mates: “It’s important to pass that knowledge down," he said
"Test match rugby is the pinnacle but when you play the All Blacks it is different. They're rugby-crazy, it is literally on 24/7 there, it means so much to them.”
England have opted for a similar team to 2019, sacrificing an extra lineout jumper in the back row for greater mobility. In that semi-final it paid off. Lightning might not strike twice.
“You could lose a lot of sleep and a lot of time worrying about what the All Blacks are going to do,” Sinckler admitted. "We’ve prepared, we’ve got a gameplan but who knows? There is that saying ‘everyone has got a plan until they get hit in the face’.”
The tighthead prop played in the last clash between the two sides at the 2019 Rugby World Cup semi final, which a rampant England won 19-7. Last week, he lifted the lid on the pre-match team meeting which he credits for inspiring the win.
Another to speak out on the issue of the haka this week is Richard Cockerill, Eddie Jones’ assistant coach. The former hooker famously stood up to the All Blacks when they performed it in 1997, going nose to nose with opposite number Norman Hewitt before the sides played out a thrilling draw.
And he has encouraged tomorrow’s sell-out in London to drown it out, saying: “We'll respect it how we want to respect it. It's a psychological advantage for them and we will deal with it how we feel the right way is to deal with it."
