New Zealand coach Henry urges England to respect haka

New Zealand head coach Graham Henry has urged England to respect the pre-match haka before tomorrow's test at Twickenham.

Last week Wales stood on the halfway line staring at the All Blacks after the traditional Maori war dance while referee Jonathan Kaplan attempted to get the game started.

After a minute's standoff at the Millennium stadium, New Zealand captain Richie McCaw intervened and the match began.

"The Welsh thought that was the best way to respond, I just wanted to know when the game was going to start," Henry told a news conference.

"It took someone with common sense, the All Blacks captain, to get things going. We don't need that every week. I hope a copycat situation doesn't occur.

"We've been there, it was interesting at the time but it's time to move on and be more sensible."

Centre Ma'a Nonu, who scored his second try in consecutive tests in the 29-9 win in Cardiff, said fans back in New Zealand would have been angered by the Welsh response.

"It was really hard," he said. "The haka is a war dance.

"People back home will have been hurt by what they decided to do. Standing in the way like they did is asking for a fight.

"My blood pressure was pretty high but then I regained my composure. I was a bit upset about it."

Victory tomorrow would complete a third grand slam of victories over the four home nations for the All Blacks, who started their tour by beating Australia in Hong Kong.

They have yet to concede a try in successive victories over Scotland, Ireland and Wales.