The England forwards coach, Richard Cockerill, has called on the Twickenham crowd to drown out New Zealand’s haka on Saturday, saying opponents should be allowed to combat the Māori challenge however they want.
Cockerill confronted the haka in 1997 when he squared up to his opposite number Norm Hewitt at Old Trafford, while England lined up in a V-shape formation before their 2019 World Cup semi-final win over the All Blacks in Yokohama. England were fined by World Rugby as a result because some players overstepped the halfway line and France suffered the same fate after a similar response in 2011.
