England manager Martin Johnson insists his side has no special plan with regards to fronting up to New Zealand's haka.
No special plays for England to front up to New Zealand war dance
England manager Martin Johnson insists his side has no special plan with regards to fronting up to New Zealand's haka.
Wales upset the All Blacks when they attempted to stare down the famous war dance, while in the past other sides have tried various tactics to negate the impact of the haka.
Johnson's former Leicester and England team-mate Richard Cockerill went nose-to-nose with All Black hooker Norm Hewitt in 1997, while Ireland captain Willie Anderson walked his side right up to the New Zealanders in 1989.
However Johnson believes it that it is more important for his side to silence their critics by concentrating on the game itself, rather than what goes on before the kick-off.
He told
Sky Sports News: "There is always a lot of media about the haka when they come up to the northern hemisphere and I think it is a very different thing for rugby as no other sport has anything like it.
"I have always enjoyed standing in front of it, but then the game starts. I think people maybe sometimes over-emphasise the affect it has on the game. We never lost or won a game against them because of the haka.
"They use it, of course, as part of their build up to the game and we need to do the same in our mentality. It is what it is and the whistle goes after that and that is the important 80 minutes for us.
"We will get people on our side with what we do on the field. You can have a good haka and a terrible 80 minutes... I would rather have a great 80 minutes."
