The Hurricanes will not perform a haka against the Lions on Tuesday
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The Hurricanes will not perform a haka, ahead of Tuesday's clash with the British and Irish Lions in Wellington.
The Super Rugby champions will instead make some sort of presentation to the touring side.
The Blues, Crusaders and Chiefs have all unfurled a haka during the Lions' series, while the Highlanders opted to present a sword. The pre-match challenges have featured squad members in leadership, or prominent, roles who weren't actually in the playing 23 and that won't be repeated when the Lions come to Westpac Stadium.
The Hurricanes have always indicated that a haka was not in their pre-match plans and chief executive Avan Lee confirmed that on Wednesday.
"We were given the opportunity to do a haka months ago. I raised that with management and senior players and we talked that through a couple of times and decided that we weren't going to do a haka," Lee said on Wednesday.
"Partly because we don't have a haka and we would've had to learn one and go through the cultural process around that. That's not to say we won't do a haka in the future; we just decided that we weren't going to do a haka for a one-off fixture.
"But we were very, very clear that we wanted to give the Lions a gift to mark the occasion and to welcome them to Wellington and the region. Then we've just worked through that process internally, looked at various options. I've met with local iwi on a couple of occasions, taken their advice and worked with them around what that gift should be and then we're just finalising those details with New Zealand Rugby and the Lions around how that will actually happen on the night."
This is not some kind of political or cultural statement from the Hurricanes. They support the decision of other franchises to perform a haka and, as Lee said, might develop their own in time.
It's just that, on this occasion, they've chosen different means with which to mark the Lions' visit to the region.
"We want them to feel welcome and our challenge will be to try and play well and beat them. We didn't feel that we needed to do a haka just because others were, we had our own strategy and plan and part of that is, like I've said, is to respect the opposition and welcome them to the region, have a hard game of rugby and then enjoy each other's company afterwards," Lee said.
The ground will at its 34,500 capacity on Tuesday, with a further sell-out to follow on the Saturday when Westpac Stadium hosts the second test match of the series. With several stars on All Blacks duty, Tuesday's team won't be the finest the Hurricanes have ever turned out.
"You've seen in the last week or 10 days that the Lions are really starting to hit their straps. They'll be very competitive on Saturday [in the first test at Eden Park] and we're expecting a massive battle on Tuesday," said Lee.
"It's a huge challenge for the club and while we've obviously got a few players out with the All Blacks, the guys that are stepping up will cherish the opportunity."
It's also the only match the Hurricanes will play prior to the resumption of Super Rugby and their highly-anticipated clash with the table-topping Crusaders on July 15.
