WILLIE MASON: "I WAS TRYING TO SING ALONG"

Willie Mason 'singing along to the haka '(left) and (right) after greeting David Kidwell.

Willie Mason has apologised for upsetting New Zealanders with a stream of obscenities during the haka at Saturday's Kiwis vs Kangaroos Rugby league test saying "Honest I was just trying to sing along."
The mountainous Aussie prop who was caught on TV mouthing, "What the f*ck is that?" says he couldn't hear the words of the haka because of the noise of the crowd, and was genuinely enquiring what words he had missed hearing.
"We had been singing 'Advance Australia Fair,' on the bus and I really got into the mood for a sing-song. I would have loved to have sung along with the haka too. I could see that little Abo-come-Kiwi Brent Webb there in the front row having a great time and I shouted out to him, 'F*ck off Webby. Your singing too fast. I can't keep up."
The incident has brought considerable debate in rugby league circles with some Australian commentators defending Mason's response to the haka as a 'spirited response to an intimidatory challenge.'
Meanwhile Kiwi second rower David Kidwell whose encounter with a ball-carrying Mason left the big man sporting a black-eye, cuts and dizziness told the Kiwi Herald that his attempt to hongi the big man was perhaps a little over-enthusiastic.

Glossary: Hongi : A traditional Maori greeting involving the pressing of noses.

HAKA CHANGE SHOCK ANNOUNCED

In a shock move Moenui South Premieres rugby coach Kiriti Moira today announced that the team would unveil a new haka when they take on the visiting Moenui North team on Saturday. For as long as locals can remember Moenui South has done the traditional “Ka mate Ka mate” haka prior to matches but come Saturday they will start with what Moira is calling “a more inclusive, aroha -filled haka”

“Lets face it” Moira said today, “Kamate is out of date. Seriously, in the 21^st century should we be curtain-raising a sporting event with a war-dance that talks about death and insults the opposition by calling them hairy buggers?”

Moira, who has coached the South team to numerous titles says that the team decided to change things during a bonding exercise at the Masonic Hotel Sports Bar on Sunday evening.

“Some of the boys had been at the play-centre working bee earlier in the day and got talking about the divisions in the world; you know between different cultures and the like. Well bugger me if they didn’t suggest we should do our bit to build a better world by changing our traditional haka and so we kind of work-shopped it. I reckon we’ve come up with something that reflects the awakening we are going through here in Moenui."

Though Moira would not reveal details of the new haka the Kiwi Herald can reveal that Saturday’s opponents will include an apology for the infamous tackle that sidelined Northern captain “Paddy” Field in last years match-up. As a finale the North team will be invited to participate in a joint haka that challenges the crowd to have a good time.