Last updated 17:33, June 18 2018
JASON DORDAY/STUFF
Te Ngaio Cleave, the acting captain for Rangitoto's First XV rugby team with his father, Martin Cleave.
Last months haka received public backlash, leaving the Rangitoto College team "emotional wrecks" according to one concerned parent.
Steps should be taken to ensure schoolboys, left "emotional wrecks" from public backlash, perform the haka correctly in future, the director of a renowned kapa haka group says.
On Saturday, Auckland schools Rangitoto College and Westlake Boys dropped their pre-game haka after a televised performance of their previous dual went viral on Facebook, attracting a barrage of negative comments.
"Legend has it the boys laid the challenge down so fiercely, they drew from the mana of their dad's credit cards and Ralph Lauren polo shirts," one user commented.
But Te Wehi Haka director Tapeta Wehi said although the haka wasn't anything to write home about, it wasn't the players' fault.
"I can see where some people [the critics] are coming from but it comes back to who taught them ... there's two sides to it," Wehi said.
Te Ngaio Cleave, the acting captain for Rangitoto's First XV rugby team with his father, Martin Cleave.
"I do feel sorry for the boys."
Learning the haka properly included a mastery of appropriate actions and an understanding of its history, Wehi said.
When it came to performance, pace was important because "the message is the vehicle".
Rangitoto College's First XV warm up ahead of their match with Westlake Boys on Saturday. Video footage of both teams' pre-game haka last month attracted negative feedback from the public.
"We've done haka on suicide and depression, on the Treaty of Waitangi, on challenging the Government ... but they [the schoolboys] are going too fast, you can't hear what they're saying."
Wehi said the boys shouldn't be discouraged in doing future haka, but felt steps should be taken to ensure they're done correctly.
Ex-NZ Māori Council co-chairman Maanu Paul offered similar insight, saying it was important schools were enthusiastic about haka but not at the expense of understanding its cultural importance.
Former NZ Māori Council co-chairman Maanu Paul believed people should encourage the school instead of criticise them, but pointed out haka should be taught by experts.
"The general theme in New Zealand is that every school wants to express their identity through the haka. That trend should continue unabated" Paul said.
"I don't think they should stop but in order for it to be taught properly, it's important that it's taught by experts and teachers of the haka."
Asked if the way haka had become embedded in Pākehā culture was an appropriation of the Māori war dance, Paul said it was important Pākehā shared in it.
"I have a Hungarian adopted grandson and he's as white as anything, but he's giving it all he's got and he's really proud," Paul said.
"If that's what it does for young people, my recommendation is good on him.
"Whether you're Pākehā or Māori, we aspire to be a bicultural nation."