WATCH: Irish comedian calls on Irish rugby team to respond to Haka with “Riverdance”
Haka #Haka
Irish content creator Tadhg Fleming has gone viral on social media after hilariously calling on the Irish rugby team to respond to the iconic New Zealand Haka by performing “Riverdance” when the sides meet on Saturday night.
Ireland takes on New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup quarter-final in Paris (Sat, Oct 14, at 8 pm Irish time) and will face off against the legendary Maori war dance before the start of the match.
Fleming, however, believes that the Irish team should respond with some cultural dancing of their own and posted a hilarious video of how the Irish response might look.
Along with his father Derry, Fleming danced to Bill Whelan’s “Riverdance” during old footage of a New Zealand haka with hilarious results.
The video has been viewed more than 2.7 million times on Twitter and a further 600,000 times on TikTok, receiving almost 70,000 likes across the two social media platforms.
“Petition for the lads to reply to the @AllBlacks Haka with the Riverdance on Saturday,” Fleming wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Petition for the lads to reply to the @AllBlacks Haka with the Riverdance on Saturday 🤣💚💪🏻 #RugbyWorldCup @rugbyworldcup #COYBIG @IrishRugby ☘️ pic.twitter.com/C9eVxaWH0p
— Tadhg Fleming (@tadhgfleming_) October 11, 2023
“Jesus this is the best thing I’ve seen all day. The commitment to the dance is like no other. Where do I sign?!” said Irish Oxford lecturer Dr. Jennifer Cassidy.
Meanwhile, New Zealand fans in Dublin performed the Haka on Grafton Street as excitement for Saturday’s match builds.
The group of All Blacks fans laid an Irish flag and jersey on the ground before performing the Haka, with a large group of people stopping to watch them.
A ceremonial Maori war dance, the Haka has been performed by New Zealand rugby teams for decades and is one of the most iconic sights in rugby union.
Excitement is building in Ireland ahead of Saturday’s World Cup quarter-final, with Ireland bidding to reach the last four of the Rugby World Cup for the first time ever.