Kapa o Pango

Kapa o Pango is a pre-match haka, or challenge, composed by Derek Lardelli, which is unique to the New Zealand national rugby union team, the All Blacks. Since 2005, the "Kapa o Pango" haka has been performed a total of 92 times before rugby test matches by the All Blacks as an alternative to the usual "Ka Mate" haka. "Kapa o Pango" is a Māori phrase which translates to "Team in Black" in English.

In all the eleven tests against an international rugby team "Kapa o Pango" has been performed for the first time the All Blacks have gone on to win the match. Only five sides have ever beaten the All Blacks in a match in which "Kapa o Pango" occurred they are South Africa (2006), Australia (2007), England (2012), Ireland (2016) and France (2023), the year in brackets is the first time a loss occurred against this team with this version of the haka.

When "Kapa o Pango" has been performed the All Blacks have won 71 tests, lost 18 tests and have drawn three times.

The biggest winning margin to the All Blacks for a test involving the "Kapa o Pango" haka was 57 points and occurred on 16 September 2017 against South Africa at North Harbour Stadium Albany, Auckland, New Zealand where the score was 57–0.

The biggest losing margin involving the All Blacks for a test with the "Kapa o Pango" haka is 28 points which occurred in a test against South Africa at Twickenham Stadium on 25 August 2023, final score 35–7.

The longest sequence of "Kapa o Pango" performances is seven, which occurred during 2023. In every Rugby World Cup knockout match since 2011 (and including) the version of the haka performed has been "Kapa o Pango".

Ten players have led "Kapa o Pango" with eight being of Māori descent and two of Samoan descent.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.