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Scenes At U20 World Championship As France Issue Tense Response To New Zealand Haka

Scenes At U20 World Championship As France Issue Tense Response To New Zealand Haka
PJ Browne
By PJ Browne
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New Zealand beat France in the World Rugby U20 Championship semi-final on Tuesday.

Prior to kick-off, there was drama following New Zealand's performance of the Haka.

The French refused to budge, as did the New Zealanders. It led to an 80-second staredown between the two teams.

It took the urging of South African referee Mike Adamson for the two sides to eventually ready themselves for kick-off.

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Adamson told French captain Florian Verhaeghe:

Captain, can you get your team ready for kick-off? We're kicking off in one minute. Captain, let's get the team ready for kick-off. I'll tell their captain the same.

Initially, it appeared that Verhaeghe had ignored the referee's instructions. It was not until Adamson spoke to New Zealand captain Luke Jacobson that his side moved. The French followed suit.

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In the moments after, it looked like the French had won a psychological advantage. New Zealand had conceded ground by moving first.

That did not tell on the scoreboard over the opening 40 minutes of the game. New Zealand led 29-0 at the half and 36-0 seven minutes into the second period.

It was not until the 50th minute that France got on the scoreboard. They would score a further 19 points, eventually losing 39-26.

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