A whole new generation of American kids are getting stuck into the haka
Our All Blacks hosted their first youth clinic in San Diego, United States, before their test match against Fiji over the weekend.
The clinic had a bunch of American youngsters getting stuck into 3-5 days of solid training, learning the ropes from ABs including Captain Scott Barrett, Mark Telea, Ethan Blackadder, and Rieko Ioane.
To wrap it all up, the kids, aged 8-13, put on a special performance of ‘Ka Mate’. They had just three days to nail the haka, but they smashed it out of the park.
Heaps of people jumped into the comments to give a thumbs up to the effort these younguns put into their performance.
"That's respect and love," said one commenter.
"The haka is such an important part of New Zealand culture," said another. "It's great to see young athletes learning and respecting it 🌏 💪."
Another added: "This is so cool that these kids got to engage with the All Blacks, rugby, and also learn the haka."
And it's not just the American kids getting into it. Earlier this month, the Māori All Blacks were in Japan for a test series against their rugby union team.
When they landed in Tokyo, the ABs were greeted with a haka from a group of Japanese kids who attend Kashiwa Rugby School.
You could tell they were putting all their mana into it for the fellas.
One commenter praised the tamariki for their “commitment and intensity,” showing “respect to the All Blacks and Māori culture.”
“This is how we unite the world,” said another.
It’s epic to see a new generation of tamariki embrace the culture on a global level.
