Ireland are set to welcome the All Blacks to the Aviva Stadium this Friday night for one of the most hotly anticipated test fixtures of the season.
With Ireland and New Zealand's rivalry at an all-time high, it's no surprise that conversations about the Haka have been front and centre of the build-up.
That conversation was only heightened when former England prop Joe Marler stoked the fire last week with a tweet that read: 'The Haka needs binning. It’s ridiculous'. Marler's comments followed up an act of defiance by England's league side who had marched face-to-face with Samoa's Haka the previous week.
While there are few people in rugby who'd happily be rid of one of the sport's most famous symbols, Gordon D'Arcy has implored teams to find a way to respond to it.
READ ALSO: World Rugby Rankings: All The Permutations Ahead Of Ireland's Clash With New Zealand
READ ALSO: Rocky Elsom Details Surreal Phone Call With Gardaí After Fleeing Ireland
Gordon D'Arcy implores Ireland to respond to the Haka
Writing in his column in the Irish Times, former Ireland and Leinster centre Gordon D'Arcy who himself faced the Haka on many an occasion revealed that he understood the sentiment Joe Marler's comments were aiming to portray.
Discussing Marler, D'Arcy was weary that for sides who opt against responding to it, the Haka can become a 'one-sided pageant'.
Former England prop Joe Marler may have chosen the wrong words to express his views on facing the haka in the lead up to last week’s match, but I think the sentiment he was trying to portray is not wrong. The haka needs to be answered in some fashion or else it becomes one-sided pageantry.
While D'Arcy admitted that those responses have come with varying levels of success over the years, finding the correct manner in which to do it seems to be paramount to what he's suggesting.
As Ireland and New Zealand's rivalry has sky-rocketed, and Ireland have well and truly put their days of inferiority behind them, Andy Farrell and Joe Schmidt have certainly delivered some memorable responses to the Haka.
The most notable of them came at the turning point in Ireland's relationship with New Zealand in 2016, when Ireland formed a figure of eight in response to the Haka at Soldier Field - a tribute to Munster and Ireland legend Axel Foley who had passed away less than a month earlier.
Ireland would go on to record an emphatic 40-29 win over the All Blacks that day, breaking a century of failed attempts.
Since then Ireland have played New Zealand 8 times, beating them on 4 occasions. While a replication of the figure of eight in last year's RWC quarter-final wasn't enough to see them advance to their first-ever semi-final, it preceded what is one of, if not the greatest test matches between the two sides.
How Ireland will face up to the Haka this Friday evening is yet to be seen, but one thing is certain, they'll be able to do it with the confidence of a team that has beaten rugby's most revered opposition on five of the last nine occasions and who's home record is second to none.
SEE ALSO: 'I Know You're Gonna Laugh': O'Callaghan Explains Bold Choice For Next Munster Head Coach
