When the All Blacks did the haka at Wembley in 1997, chants of “Wales, Wales, Wales” from the crowd were so loud some Welsh players couldn’t even hear opposition hooker Norm Hewitt leading the famous war dance barely 20 metres away.
But, if the latest scientific evidence is to be believed, the probability is New Zealand would still have benefited.
For an Australia University study has shown that the three-times world champions do enjoy physiological gains from performing the ceremonial Maori routine before Test match kick-offs.