‘Leading the haka fires me up, it’s like an adrenalin rush’
Ngata-aerengamate says challenge gives side edge Maori culture at heart of Black Ferns’ team spirit
Te Kura Ngata-aerengamate, the fearsome leader of New Zealand’s haka during the Women’s Rugby World Cup, likes to greet new acquaintances with a hug. Even those who have come to interview her because “that’s what we do in Aotearoa.”
Aotearoa is the Maori name for New Zealand, meaning “land of the long white cloud” and as the hooker speaks, her stories are peppered with Maori words such as manaakai, which means looking after and caring for others.
This may seem at odds with the intimidating reputation of the haka yet she switches with ease between “going to war on the field” and a nurturing team environment with ease.
The 25 year-old teacher of Maori language and PE is keen to point out that this combination of the warlike and the loving is an aspect of a unique culture and team environment.
“The Maori culture is really important to us because it separates you from any other country,” she said. “It is unique, it is important to have that in your life and in everything you do; respect to elders, past players, our ancestors.
“If you went behind the scenes with our team, you would see we have a totally different vibe compared to other teams in that we are quite relaxed. When we train, we train very hard but then we go back to being relaxed. We sing songs, we dance. I think we are the only team that dances around!
“We love to make laughter, we go into the fan zone and we grab people to get up and dance, we are not shy, we are not snobby.”
This seems similar to the All Blacks’ “no d---heads” culture but the women have their own ethos that is shown in part through their haka.
New Zealand’s women are not known as the All Blacks women but have their own identity as The Black Ferns – and they have their own version of the haka.
In New Zealand there are many different types of haka, so what we see the All Blacks perform before every Test match is just the tip of Maori culture.
One striking difference between the men and women’s version, is that the Black Ferns’ haka actually has two leaders.
Ngata-aerengamate is usually joined either by wing Renee Wickliffe or scrum-half Aroha Savage, as Ngata-aerengamate explains. “We always have two leaders to carry the sound. Our lines and set-up are different to the men, with two of us we need to get the timing right.”
Ngata-aerengamate, who is of Maori and Cook Island heritage does not shy away from the confrontational aspect of the prematch ritual but is very aware of the spiritual meaning of the lyrics.
“We do the haka before we go out to war. It gets us in a hyped sort of mode, getting us ready for war. This haka talks about the Black Ferns of New Zealand getting ready.
“The leader goes through her calls. One lyric is ‘Who are these women’ – it is to show the opposition who we are. It also talks about the spiritual realm of things; it talks about our land and mountains.”
So, what does it feel like to lead and to perform the haka? “It feels like a rumbling in your heart. You get into this zone of extra energy, like you are on the next level.
“For me, it is like I am getting my second wind before the game has even started. You feel so fired up; it is like you have had some sort of upper that gets you really going! It is an adrenalin rush.” With this high
also comes a deeply emotional and spiritual experience for the hooker.
“I remember being up in my room the other day and just tearing up thinking about when I do the haka, my ancestors are spiritually behind me. I could really feel the spiritual side of it and just how wicked it felt. It is like having super powers!” The Auckland woman is convinced that the haka gives her side a boost before the game even starts.
“Does our haka give us an extra edge? Definitely. Because we feel that adrenalin rush, the other team get an adrenalin rush in their warmup, we get it in our warm-up and then we get that extra doing the haka before the game.”