Time the Aussies button their lips and just play

The All Black haka is an integral and wonderful part of all rugby Tests against New Zealand, but the effect their little song-and-dance routine has on the two teams that are about to do battle on the field is often overlooked.

In the old days, the whistle to start the game used to go soon after the Men in Black had shouted “Whiti te r? Hi!” and done their final leap; but nowadays, and for at least the last decade, the International Rugby Board have ruled that there has to be a one-minute cooling-down period after the haka, during which the opposition normally takes off their tracksuits and has one last huddle.

The reason for this – and the Springboks under Jake White were one of the first to complain – is that the All Blacks gained a competitive advantage from the haka – it was a great way for them to ensure they started every match at peak arousal, so to speak, while the opposition stood around getting cold.

The situation with the Australian cricket team and their fondness for constant sledging would seem to be similar. The captain himself, Steve Smith, said this week that they play better when they are “aggressive and trying to get into a battle on the field”.

The only problem is the Aussies don’t seem to want to give the opposition the right to reply. And a retort is almost always going to be more barbed than its predecessor in order to be effective. The Australian team also seem to believe they are the arbiters of where exactly “the line” they love talking about so much resides.

The problem is clear but the Australian team remind me of the Americans who support the National Rifle Association and in

Ken Borland

their state of denial cannot see the obvious truth – allowing anyone to have any gun of their choosing is the recipe for disaster that has led to the spate of shootings in schools, shopping centres etc.

Allowing the Australian team to just constantly shout abuse at the opposition in the field will inevitably lead to explosive situations.

In the most recent case, it was the laidback, mild-mannered Quinton de Kock who eventually cracked and said something back.

It is up to the International Cricket Council (ICC) and their officials to ensure fair play, and in this latest incident, it was clearly a dereliction of duty by the on-field umpires who allowed matters to escalate to such an extent that disciplinary hearings had to be held.

There is also little doubt the whole fracas would have been ignored if a certain media house had not been provided with the CCTV footage; the ICC prefer denial, and the lack of accountability of their officials is shown by the fact that the media are not allowed to speak to the match referee.

Another way to muzzle those who have verbal diarrhoea would be to ensure the stump microphones are kept on throughout. The hypocrisy of the Australians when they talk – as Smith did before the second Test about not crossing the line and playing within the spirit of the game – would soon be exposed if their never-ending sledging was publicly known. But they are desperate to ensure that the stump microphone sound is not broadcast, even going so far as to recite the names of competitors to the match sponsors into them.

They would take way more care over what garbage came out of their mouths if they knew their family or children might get to hear.

In any case, Australia have enough bowling firepower to bring any team to their knees; as Faf du Plessis mused this week, the contribution sledging makes to getting wickets is probably minuscule. In fact, it is more likely that the barrage unleashed on De Kock in Durban made him focus more and sparked way more fight in the previously-struggling batsman.

So do yourselves and everyone else a favour, Australia, and keep a bit more quiet on the field.