Kieran Read responds to Eddie Jones' 'Spice Girls' call

All Blacks captain Kieran Read has responded to England head coach Eddie Jones’ disinterest in the haka.

“At that stage of the game, they could be playing the Spice Girls and I wouldn’t know what’s being played,” Jones said of the haka ahead of Saturday’s showdown at Twickenham.

“They’re making a comeback aren’t they, the Spice Girls? Maybe they could sing at that time. It’s got no relevance to me at all.”

After the All Blacks’ final training session before the match, Read elaborated on the importance the haka holds within camp.

“Hey, look, we do the haka as a challenge but it is also more about us connecting as a team,” Read told media.

“You know that the opposition can do what they like, and for us, we will respect what they do. And, hopefully, the haka shows respect as well.

“We will just see what happens.”

The haka has previously been met at Twickenham with choruses of ‘Swing Low, Sweet Chariot’, and Read believes the rebuttal from the crowd enhances the feeling around the groud.

“It is a part of the history of the game, and us as New Zealanders,” he said. “I certainly get a kick out of it, and I am sure the crowd does tomorrow. Whether they sing, or what, it adds to the atmosphere.

“For me I think it is a great part of the game (that) we need to keep going.”

While the All Blacks haven’t been beaten by England since 2012, Read is wary of the threat the world’s fourth best side pose.

“Right now (England) are one of the top teams in the world,” he said. “It can be fairly conservative [their style of play] but it wins football games. They have got some guys out there who are pretty devastating with the ball in hand.

“You have to give them due respect for that.”

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