Ma’a Nonu answers All Blacks haka before historic Sharks clash

Ma’a Nonu delivered a solo haka in response to his former All Blacks teammates before the Hollywoodbets Sharks faced New Zealand at Kings Park on Tuesday night.

The 44-year-old stepped forward from the Sharks line-up while the All Blacks performed their traditional pre-match challenge. somethingsdifferent.biz

His response drew a strong reaction from the Durban crowd and became one of the most memorable moments of the All Blacks’ South African tour.

Nonu faces the All Blacks for the first time

The match marked the first time Nonu had played against New Zealand.

He represented the All Blacks in 103 Tests and helped the team win two Rugby World Cups.

Nonu has since returned to professional rugby with the Sharks in a mentorship role.

His solo haka recognised his ties to New Zealand and its rugby traditions while he prepared to represent the Durban side.

Kings Park crowd embraces the moment

Nonu stood apart from his Sharks teammates as he delivered the challenge towards the All Blacks.

The Kings Park crowd responded with loud appreciation.

The exchange brought added emotion to a fixture already carrying personal significance for the former New Zealand midfielder.

All Blacks dominate in wet Durban conditions

The visitors controlled the match and scored eight tries in a 54-0 victory.

Wet conditions added to the challenge for a Sharks team featuring several young and inexperienced players.

Nonu joined the game from the bench during the second half.

Solo haka becomes defining image of the match

The result belonged to the All Blacks, but Nonu’s pre-match response drew much of the attention.

The veteran faced the team he represented for much of his career while wearing Sharks colours for the first time against New Zealand.

His performance added a personal moment to a difficult night for the hosts.

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Kaizer Chiefs will be looking to bounce back quickly from their disappointing MTN8 exit when they host Sekhukhune United this evening in the Betway Premiership at FNB Stadium.

Chiefs face Babina Noko test

Fernando Da Cruz’ side are likely to be in for a tough time, however, against Babina Noko and their head coach Cedric Kaze.

Kaze has got off to a superb start in charge of Sekhukhune, winning his first Premiership match against Durban City and then pulling off an extraordinary 4-3 MTN8 quarterfinal win at AmaZulu.

He should also know Chiefs inside out having coached there for two seasons before being let go at the end of the 2025/26 campaign.

With that said, Da Cruz did win his first Premiership game of the season at Durban City, a 3-1 win over another former Chiefs coach in Khalil Ben Youssef.

So maybe inside knowledge won’t necessarily help. Either way, Chiefs will need to respond to Sunday’s 1-0 loss to Arrows. That result was particularly disappointing given that it was Chiefs’ first appearance in the MTN8 in three years.

“It’s very disappointing for the players because they put in a lot of effort. Also, for the fans because a lot of them came to the stadium,” Da Cruz told Chiefs media

“We had a lot of chances to score but we didn’t take them and unfortunately they scored with their only chance from a cross.

“We lacked lucidity (composure) inside the box. Even after they scored we had opportunities but we need to work on being calmer in those situations.”

‘Happy with the mindset’

“I am happy with the mindset of the players,” he added.

“We wanted to go further in this tournament and we are disappointed to be eliminated but we still have other competitions to compete in and we will continue to work hard to improve step by step. I want the fans to be proud of the team in the next few weeks.”

Chiefs have a massive few days ahead of them with an early season cracker against Mamelodi Sundowns coming up on Saturday at FNB Stadium.

Get good results against Sekhukhune and Sundowns and the MTN8 exit will not feel so bad. If Chiefs lose to both, however, the early season pressure on Da Cruz is likely to mount.

NAIROBI, Kenya, August 12, 2026 – Buoyed by their fourth Barthes Cup Under 20 Trophy, Chipu coach Simon Jawichre is confident the current crop of players can spur Kenya to the 2031 Rugby World Cup.

Jawichre points to their incredible talent as one evidence of his conviction, adding that what needs to be done is to keep the group together for consistency purposes.

“Key thing, again, is if they can keep staying together. A good thing is that we have a small window going to the next World Cup because this one is gone. So, I think many of them will make that group of people. They are almost ready to go to the next level,” he said.

The youngsters put on a masterclass at Wankuluku Stadium in Kampala, beating Namibia 33-14 to clinch their fourth continental title.

It was sweet revenge for Chipu who lost 32-22 to the same country at last year’s edition of the competition, shredding their hopes of qualifying for the World Rugby Junior Trophy to pieces.

According to the Catholic University Monks head coach, expansiveness was the codeword to unlocking the Namibians’ 22.

“If we kept it too tight, we were making errors. If we kept it too tight, we were going to lose the ball to Namibia. So, just play expansively and keep the ball moving and running. When they have the ball, of course, keep them under pressure. So, of course, possession was key and territory, because when they dug deep and got into half, that’s when they got their couple of tries,” he observed.

Jawichre added: “When we got the ball rolling, and kudos to our boys, because they are mentally strong and they took their chances. Played what’s in front of them, like we asked them to do, and that’s how we got to the finish line.”

The team arrive in Nairobi on Wednesday night during which they are expected to receive a red carpet reception at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

All Blacks coach Dave Rennie admitted that his team would be focusing on improving their slow starts, after their opening two matches of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry against the Stormers and Shark.

Against the Stormers last Friday the All Blacks scored early, but were then pegged back by the hosts and only led 14-5 at halftime, while against the Sharks on Tuesday night the Durban side were the better team in the opening 15 minutes, before the All Blacks slowly got going and eventually led 14-0 at the break.

They kicked on to win both games comfortably, 38-21 in Cape Town, while they gave the Sharks a good 54-0 hiding, but Rennie is well aware how dangerous slow starts like that will be against the Springboks.

“We are frustrated with that first 40. We gave away a lot of penalties early and struggled to get our hands on the ball. When we did [get our hands on the ball] we looked good. But we didn’t build enough pressure for long enough. That second half was excellent though,” said Rennie.

“We are trying to build the way we want to play, and the conditions made it difficult to shift the ball, but I thought overall we did a good job there on the back of a really solid defensive effort.

“We have a lot more in us, but we can’t afford the starts we have had in the two games so far, so that will be a big focus for us going forward.”

First Test looming

However, the main goal for the All Blacks in these games has been getting more time on the field into their extended squad so that they are all aligned by the time they face the Springboks in the opening Test next weekend, and from that perspective Rennie is happy.

“The majority of the squad have played. A lot of guys have got good minutes and more of them did tonight,” said Rennie.

“It is all about getting more footy into this group. We have now had five games this season, and we have a better understanding of how we want to play.

“We have a lot more people with good time (under their belts), and there is really good competition for spots, so I think that is really important heading into the (first) Test in a couple of weeks.”

The All Blacks now take on the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday, before gearing up for the Springboks at Ellis Park.

Kaizer Chiefs right-back Thabiso Monyane says the disappointment of their MTN8 defeat has served as a wake-up call for the squad as they look to bounce back against Sekhukhune United.

The Glamour Boys were eliminated from the MTN8 following their 1-0 defeat to Golden Arrows in the quarter-finals.

Amakhosi will be hoping to return to winning ways when they face Sekhukhune in their next Betway Premiership encounter at the FNB Stadium.

Monyane acknowledges the challenge posed by a well-organised Sekhukhune side, while insisting that Chiefs are fully focused on securing a positive result before turning their attention to Mamelodi Sundowns.

“The MTN8 loss really tested us as a group and we have used that as fuel to improve all areas of our game, to sharpen up.

“It has been a wake-up call for all of us and we are preparing very hard to play Sekhukhune.

“They are a tough, hard-running team that is well organised so it will not be easy, but it’s a chance for the boys to put in the work necessary to get a good result and we are going to go for it.

“We know Sundowns are looming in the background but we are taking one step at a time and our full attention is focused on facing Sekhukhune.”

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