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If I remember correctly, the singing of national anthems before rugby test matches was started by the Welsh in answer to the All Blacks doing the haka over a hundred years ago. But soon the All Blacks and other teams got to singing their anthem as well. Any Welsh history buffs that can confirm or correct that?
I am not a Kiwi, but love the haka before games, that is other than that throat slitting version.
The All Blacks certainly dont sing their anthem with same volume and feeling as some of the other teams do. Saving their breath and emotion for the haka I suppose?
Maybe the All Blacks should have to skip their anthem and if they want to do the haka?
How the Welsh introduced national anthems to international sporting fixtures
By Ian Volans, 11th October 2015 22:31
Originally published on 3 February 2013. Updated 11 October 2015
The tradition of singing national anthems before international sporting matches is believed to have originated at Cardiff Arms Park on 16 December 1905. The occasion was the first rugby match between Wales and New Zealand.
During that year’s home internationals, Wales had won the Triple Crown. (France didn’t play their first match in Britain until 1907 and didn’t officially become part of the Five Nations until 1910.) By the time New Zealand’s inaugural northern hemisphere tour reached Cardiff for the test against Wales, they were undefeated after 27 matches, including victories against the other three home nations. 801 points had been scored, just 32 conceded.
With two undefeated sides coming face-to-face, the match was billed in the press as the “match of the century”.
The shirt worn by the All Blacks Captain in the 1905 Wales vs New Zealand match was put up for auction in October 2015. It sold for £180,000 to set a new world record for a rugby shirt.
Their pre-match haka had added to the aura of All Black invincibility. Having traveled to watch the visitors play at Gloucester, the Welsh Rugby Union decided to undertake their own experiment in psychological warfare at the Arms Park. At the end of the haka, Teddy Morgan led the Welsh team in singing Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau. After a few seconds, the capacity crowd of 40,000 picked up the refrain. The Lyttleton Times reported to its readers in New Zealand that “The effect was intensely thrilling, even awe-inspiring.”
For the record, Wales defeated the All Blacks by 3-0, although the result remains the subject of controversy to this day with allegations that a New Zealand try had not been awarded. The New Zealand Rugby Museum account of the tour can be found here.
Recognition of Hen Wlad fy Nhadau as the Welsh national anthem effectively dates from 1905. Prior to the match in Cardiff, it had been a popular song, originally called Glan Rhondda, that had been written in 1856 by Evan James from Pontypridd and his son James. So not only did the “match of the century” at Cardiff Arms Park start the tradition of singing anthems before international fixtures, it also effectively gave Wales its own anthem.
A history of The Welsh National Anthem by Sion Jobbins was published on the eve of the 2013 Six Nations prompting strange debates on several BBC Radio stations on whether it should be sung by non-Welsh speakers.
http://sportinglandmarks.co.uk/summe...ting-fixtures/
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Thanks Volvo. Innforcer, I did watch it, maybe thats where I heard it.
Now everybody watch the singing of anthems tonight. The Kiwis in the crowd will give the anthem full volume, but the All Blacks will hardly open their mouths, compared to the haka a few minutes later.
If the haka became their ""anthem"", then they would quite right to expect respect for it from the other teams and the crowd.
Just found this on Stuff https://interactives.stuff.co.nz/201...gby-world-cup/
80 Minutes, 15 Positions, No Protection, Wanna Ruck?
Ruck Me, Maul Me, Make Me Scrum!
Education is Important, but Rugby is Importanter!
"The main difference between playing League and Union is that now I get my hangovers on Monday instead of Sunday - Tom David
Talking about showing respect for the haka. In western society, sticking your tongue right out like that directly facing somebody is a totally disrespectful thing to do. Remembering that every other major team they play against on a regular basis is from a western culture. Is it a normal thing for a Maori to do to a friend or person they respect, or only to an enemy before a battle? Honest question.
They certainly quickly dropped the ""throat slitting"" version after complaints, even although they said that is not what it meant.
As I said earlier, I love the haka and have great respect for the wonderful Maori people who I have met mainly through rugby.
I wonder if pointing at the opposition followed by the throat slit as the Kiwis did to GB a fee minutes back is a tradition? Or disrespectful.
"The main difference between playing League and Union is that now I get my hangovers on Monday instead of Sunday - Tom David
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Let's have one of these in WA! Click this link: Saitama Super Arena - New Perth Stadium?