Kapa o Pango
The All Blacks' alternative haka, debuted in 2005 against South Africa.
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 98 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.
Quick Facts
- First performance
- 2005
- Debut opponent
- South Africa
- Type
- Haka
- Team
- All Blacks
- Status
- Active (Occasional)
- Meaning
- The Black Team
Lore & Background
The haka debuted on 27 August 2005, before the Tri-Nations test match between New Zealand and South Africa at Carisbrook stadium in Dunedin. The All Blacks performed a new haka, "Kapa o Pango", specially composed by Derek Lardelli and designed to reflect the multi-cultural make-up of contemporary New Zealand – in particular the influence of Polynesian cultures. This new haka was to be reserved for special occasions and was not intended to replace "Ka Mate". Ireland became the second team to face it on 5 November 2005 at Lansdowne Road. The first time the All Blacks lost after performing "Kapa o Pango" was on 2 September 2006 against South Africa in Newlands, Cape Town. The haka has been performed at several Rugby World Cup knockout matches since 2011, but notably was not performed at the 2011 final, where "Ka Mate" was used instead.
Reader's Guide
When "Kapa o Pango" has been performed the All Blacks have won 75 tests, lost 20 tests and have drawn three times. The biggest winning margin was 57 points on 16 September 2017 against South Africa at North Harbour Stadium Albany, Auckland (57–0). The biggest losing margin is 28 points, against South Africa at Twickenham on 25 August 2023 (35–7). The longest sequence of performances is seven, which occurred during 2023. Ten players have led "Kapa o Pango", with eight being of Māori descent and two of Samoan descent.
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