For it stands alone in sport as a unilateral statement of intent, to which no challenge is permissible. Again the All Blacks complained loudly when the Welsh decided, in 2008, that the best riposte to the haka was to stand motionless and stare. This, too, was depicted as a grotesque insult to their heritage. All of which begs the question: what exactly is the right way to react to such a provocative call to arms? Brian O’Driscoll ventured this very point when he was made Lions captain in New Zealand in 2005, and was told gravely by Maori elders that his best course of action was to toss a few blades of grass in the air. Well, that did him the power of good. Fifteen minutes later he had his shoulder dislocated in an illegal spear tackle and was ruled out of the entire tour.