England ‘welcome’ to challenge New Zealand’s haka after Joe Marler criticism

New Zealand coach Scott Robertson has indicated his side would embrace any challenge England might pose to the traditional haka ahead of their highly anticipated clash at Allianz Stadium this Saturday.

The fixture rekindles memories of past encounters where England has famously confronted the Maori war dance.

Twelve months ago, England advanced to the halfway line at Twickenham, while in 2019, they formed a V-shape before their dominant World Cup semi-final victory.

Last autumn's build-up was particularly charged when then-prop Joe Marler, now retired, controversially labelled the haka "ridiculous" and stated it "needs binning”, sparking a significant backlash in New Zealand.

Despite a less contentious lead-up this time, Robertson understands the spectacle such responses create.

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"The haka’s setting a challenge and if someone does something different, respectfully, you welcome it," the All Blacks head coach affirmed.

"There are always rules of engagement around it, but they know what we’re going to do. If you haven’t planned or covered off what they’re going to do, it can be unexpected, and that’s part of it."

Beyond the pre-match ritual, a pivotal aspect of Saturday's contest will be the impact of the benches.

New Zealand boasts significant reinforcements including Samisoni Taukei’aho, Wallace Sititi, Anton Lienert-Brown, and Damian McKenzie.

England, meanwhile, has opted for a powerful "bomb squad" of five British and Irish Lions forwards, a strategy that has proven decisive in their victories over Australia and Fiji this autumn.

Robertson stressed the importance of these tactical substitutions: "The finishing of Test matches is critical and whoever you bring on needs to make an impact."

He added, "We’ve got good cohesion after a couple of Tests. A lot of the combinations have played together and we have a good, powerful bench to get us home."

The All Blacks will be led by Scott Barrett, who has made a remarkable recovery from a 12-stitch wound sustained against Ireland earlier in their end-of-year tour.

"It’s remarkable once you saw Scott’s cut, he’s got good healing powers. We’ve had to pull him back a bit in training. He’s ready to go," Robertson concluded.