'I played for the All Blacks – England star’s disrespect to the Haka gave me added motivation'

Former New Zealand rugby captain Tana Umaga admitted he was always motivated by an England player's disrespect for the Haka.

The traditional pre-match ritual was projected into the headlines this week after England prop Joe Marler said it "needs binning". Marler, 34, has since back-pedalled from his comments and apologised, insisting he way trying to put forward the argument that opposing teams should be allowed to respond to the dance.

Umaga, 51, has experienced disrespect for the Haka before, when he watched Richard Cockerill and the rest of the Red Roses square up to the All Blacks in 1997. Instead of expressing his offence for Cockerill's response, Umaga said it simply gave him and his team-mates even more fire and motivation.

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In an interview with Prime Casino, Umaga said: "I loved playing England because I always wanted to beat them. They were one of the teams that I really got up for and I probably played some of my best games against them.

"I was always motivated. It goes back to the time in 1997 when I toured there. In the last game of the tour Richard Cockerill and Norman Hewitt, the two hookers squared up during the Haka. I was sitting on the side-line not playing.

"I watched as they went nose to nose. Being a proud All Black and fan and being part of it, to know the Haka means to us, to see Cockerill up in his face taking the challenge and showing disrespect, ever since then I have been really motivated against England."

England host the All Blacks at Twickenham on Saturday afternoon at 3.10pm. In a bid to try and pour water over the reaction to his comments, Marler issued an apology on his social media page.

In a statement on X, he said: “Just wanted to jump on here and say sorry to any New Zealand fans I upset with my poorly articulated tweet earlier in the week. I meant no malice in asking for it to be binned, just want to see the restrictions lifted to allow for a response without sanction.

“How good were the [Richard] Cockerill/[Norm] Hewitt, [David] Campese, France ’07, Tokyo ’19 or Samoa v England rugby league responses? Create some entertaining drama before kick-off.

“My flippant attempt at sparking a debate around it was s***house and I should have done better at explaining things. I’m grateful for the education received on how important the haka is to the New Zealand culture and hope others have a better understanding too.

"Now roll on 3pm on Saturday for a mega rugby occasion. I’ll get back in my attention-seeking box now.”