Hurricanes Kiwi Super Rugby side is slammed for changing the words to their haka so they could call the New Zealand government racist
- The Hurricanes women’s side was criticized for controversial haka
- Haka called coalition government ‘redneck puppets’
- The Hurricanes boss said the club will issue an official apology
The Hurricanes women’s Super Rugby squad has been criticized for a controversial haka that heavily criticized the New Zealand government.
The rugby team, known as the Poua, performed a modified haka before their season-opening match against the Chiefs Manawa team last weekend.
The haka included the words “karetao o te Kāwana kakiwhero,” which translates to “puppets of this redneck government.”
The haka also referred to Toitu te Tiriti, a political movement that has spoken out against the coalition government’s policies on the Māori language – known as te reo Māori – and alleged breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi.
Hurricanes boss Avan Lee was unhappy with the haka and stated that the club would apologize to the coalition government.
“The Hurricanes should not be making a political statement,” Lee said.
The Hurricanes’ women’s side have been roasted for performing a haka that branded New Zealand politicians ‘redneck puppets’
Hurricanes boss Avan Lee says the club will apologize to the government
“If they do, there needs to be an agreement across the organization because we have players and staff who are not comfortable with what is being said.”
‘There are obviously players and staff who agree, but that misses the point… we were blind.
‘It is inappropriate for us to make a political statement. Whether they say ‘the government is great or the government is not great,’ that is not our role.”
However, the rugby team’s haka leader, Leilani Perese, stands by the message, claiming she passed the message on to team management before stepping down.
“I sent it to management at the last minute,” she told TVNZ.
“They were like, go for it. We support you 100 percent.’
New Zealand’s centre-right coalition government has pledged to reverse the policies of previous governments, particularly those that promoted the official use of the Maori language.
Many indigenous groups view this move as undermining their rights and status.
Haka leader Leilani Perese of the rugby team supports the message in the haka (photo: Hurricanes players warm up for the match against Chiefs Manawa)
“I believe in what we say, I stand by it,” Perese said.
“I believe in rugby we have a platform where people watch and listen. And why wouldn’t we use our platform to show our people that we will never go bankrupt?
“To tell the government that we are stronger than ever, and that we will never go down without war.”