A New Twist on the Haka

Despite their great record of successes over the years and their legendary uniform, the New Zealand All Blacks are perhaps as famous for the haka they perform before matches as for anything else. Famed Irish author James Joyce even referenced it in his renowned work Finnegan's Wake. The haka tradition saw a bit of a different Irish tribute yesterday, though, when Munster's four players of New Zealand origin performed their own haka before the club's mid-week match against the All Blacks.

The ritual nearly inspired Munster to repeat their classic 1978 upset of New Zealand. This time, they led New Zealand until the All Blacks pulled ahead in the last four minutes to win 18-16. To be fair, the New Zealand side included several new and lesser-seen faces, but the match was a thriller nonetheless. Here's a look at that haka that started it all:



While we're at it, here are a few highlights from the match:



Here's one try from that 1978 match:



And last of all, to give some idea of the cultural significance of that historic day in 1978, you can also see a video of that same try re-enacted with LEGO blocks: