By John Day (@John_Day_)
It's started.
The All Blacks have only been in London for five days, but the Haka is already the topic of conversation.
It's not often you see hooker Keven Mealamu without a smile, but after initially having to answer questions about former teammate Ali Williams bagging the English in a French newspaper, it was time for the journalists to stir-up the most predictable attack on the All Blacks' traditional challenge.
The first question Mealamu answered politely and to the point: he thought Matt Dawson's "Hakarena" video was funny, but not offensive.
Cool, that's where it should've ended.
But four minutes and seven Haka-related questions later, Mealamu was over it (and so were most of the New Zealand reporters in attendance), so the British media pack turned to Charlie Faumuina, who was seated on Mealamu's left.
The big, bearded front-rower wasn't interested in getting into the boring conversation, so after two questions it was Wyatt Crockett's turn to face the music.
He wasn't adding any fuel to the fire that the British journalists were so eager to stoke either, and after five and a half excruciating minutes, Mealamu had to interject.
The mild-mannered veteran put a full-stop on the tedious conversation with, "to be honest, we've got a game to play this week, so we've got bigger things to worry about."
We get it. The English don't like the Haka, and they also love to see All Blacks players getting riled-up, having to defend what is regarded by many as an unfair advantage.
Hopefully this is the end of the latest Haka drama, but we all know it'll come up again, especially if England and the All Blacks meet later in the tournament.
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