English prop Joe Marler has backtracked on his comments and apologised for calling the haka “ridiculous” and needs “binning” in a social media post.
After initially deleting his X (twitter) account he later reactivated it and apologised promptly saying “sorry to any New Zealand fans I upset with my poorly articulated tweet earlier in the week”.
“My flippant attempt at sparking a debate around it was shithouse and I should have done better at explaining things” he added.
In his initial post, he took aim at the haka saying it was “ridiculous” and needed to be “binned” he did offer context however saying that he “just wanted to see the restrictions lifted to allow for a response without sanction”.
However this quickly backfired on him, being flamed by Kiwi’s and general rugby fans alike.
The English prop offered thanks for those respondents who informed him and gave him “education on how important the Haka is to New Zealand culture”.
All Blacks coach Scott Robertson also weighed in on his comments saying its a massive thing for Kiwi’s.
“The haka for us is a custom. It is part of who we are, our DNA. You can welcome somebody, it is for celebrations, for joy, and also for challenge and we use it as a challenge,”
“It is not just about the All Blacks, it is about us as a country. It means a lot to us.” he added.
Photo Credit: Rugby Planet
