Ireland dancing with danger

IT has been suggested that the All Blacks should be the subject of derision from the Lansdowne Road terraces next Saturday in response to the Brian O’Driscoll affair.

I sincerely hope not.

Many column inches have been devoted to this unsavoury incident and I have no interest in resurrecting the issue. Suffice to say O’Driscoll was let down by a number of parties, notably rugby officialdom. That said, it’s time to move on.

On Saturday the best rugby team in the world play in Dublin determined to build on their opening tour success against Wales.

For many fans though, particularly the younger generation, the Haka will represent the highlight of the day.

This ancient Maori dance is one of the great institutions of international rugby, but inevitably when New Zealand arrive on Irish soil, the response of the national team under Willie Anderson in 1989 to the Haka comes into sharp focus. Looking back, the circumstances surrounding that incident are quite amusing.

The All Blacks toured Wales and Ireland in 1989 having won the inaugural World Cup two years earlier. With victorious captain David Kirk having retired, outstanding No. 8 Buck Shelford assumed the leadership. A proud Maori, he was instrumental in rekindling the passion surrounding the famous pre-match ritual.

As the tour progressed, the All Blacks overstepped the mark when utilising it as an intimidatory tool.

Against Newport the home side retreated to their in-goal area rather than face the Haka. Shelford famously marched his men right up to the corner of Rodney Parade and performed the Haka in front of an extremely embarrassed looking team. The game was over before it started. Waiting in the wings was a young Munster team, ready for battle in Musgrave Park. Given that this was their first meeting since Munster’s historic win in Thomond Park in 1978, there was a massive interest in the game. Conscious of the way the All Blacks had treated Newport, we decided to line up on the halfway line with arms linked and face down the Haka head-on.

In 1985, when Ireland recorded their first win the Arms Park for 18 years, I was part of another team who linked arms in defiance and sang along to the inspiring Welsh national anthem.

It certainly worked that day.

While Munster were well beaten, I remember Shelford afterwards saying he fully respected the way Munster accepted the challenge laid down by the visitors.

The following Saturday in Dublin, Ireland captain Willie Anderson decided to replicate the stance taken by Munster.

What he failed to tell his teammates was that he, positioned in the centre of the line, would advance forward towards the All Blacks. In blissful ignorance, we watched as Anderson pumped his legs and headed for the tourists.

That is why the arrowhead formation developed as the Haka progressed. Lansdowne Road had never seen anything like it and the crowd went ballistic.

As a result of that game, the authorities decreed that neither team would advance beyond the ten-metre line when the Haka was being performed. It was certainly one of the most bizarre moments of my playing career.

Of course all this will have no relevance when Graham Henry’s completely revamped side takes the field on Saturday. Last year South Africa arrived bidding to become the first team to achieve a Grand Slam since Andrew Slack’s Wallabies in 1984. They got so hyped up in their pre-tour publicity that they ended up losing to both Ireland and England.

Henry is acutely aware of this and quite rightly emphasised the developmental role this tour will play in their build-up to the 2007 World Cup. His team selections to date have supported this stance.

Against Wales on Saturday, he rested four of the pack that annihilated the Lions. However, the result was the same. Therefore, it’s not the greatest surprise to see he has selected so many ‘new’ faces for Saturday.

The pace, handling skills and physicality the New Zealanders showed throughout the Lions series were very much to the fore again in the Millennium Stadium. For Ireland to have any chance of curtailing the visitors they must compete ferociously in the set piece and at the break down. In this respect, Paul O’Connell is a huge loss.

The other concern is that Malcolm O’Kelly has only had one full 80 minutes of rugby in five months. He would have benefited from a Celtic League outing but with Leinster playing on Sunday, Eddie O’Sullivan was unwilling to risk losing his primary ball winner.

Over the years, Ireland have always performed well when least expected, but one feels that even at their optimum they will find it difficult to cope with the challenge presented by this New Zealand side.

Like it or not, by Saturday evening Henry should be halfway on the road to the Grand Slam he dares not mention.