Well its not like the Fench really did anything.. they lined up, stood there, had a watch while the All Blacks marched up and did their thing and then the Frogs just got on with the game and won. I really doubt that the haka had anything to do with Joe or Alis perceived confidence.
Not necessarily.. there are other factors at work. The Haka is a huge marketing tool for instance, having it as the definitive last action before any game makes it more attractive to advertisers. It's also in their interests to prevent singing as a response to the haka becoming the norm. Its not a huge stretch of the imagination to see fans sparking up during the haka, i remember the english doing it a few years ago. 60,000 people will drown out 22 people, and when you can't hear the haka its not really that impressive and loses its luster a marketing tool.
Also while i don't believe that the haka in itself gives any real advantage, i think that rocking the boat and getting the other team worried can affect the oppositions confidence.. As i said before the teams that really worry about the Haka tend to come off second best, the All Blacks denying the other team the opportunity to reply messes with their heads and could attenuate performance. You can see them trying to pull a similar trick with the Kapa o Pango haka, they have picked which games they perform this version in very carefully. To this date they have never lost a match that they have begun with the Kapa-o-pango haka, its not going to be long before everyone clues on to this and then when they pull it out the other team will already be thinking "Oh god they are pulling out that one, we are so ****** now". Its very sneaky.
I think the main point i want to get across is that the haka itself has no magical powers, its just up to the opposition to decide weather they are going to let it affect them or not.
I honestly think that the best way to combat the "advantage" is to not attach so much weight to it. So what if you have to endure and wait while the AB do their pre match war dance. Its only an issue if you make it into one and your own media (NH) isn't helping you out on that front.
They should just treat it in the same way as they treat minute silences when someone dies (i know its a different situation but bear with me). Just stand there adopt the mentality of "this is just something not related to rugby that we do sometimes before games" wait for it to be over and then put it out of your mind and get to playing rugby. Dont worry about "replying" to it, its just a formality.
