School performs haka to intimidate rugby rivals

The haka’s always been a tool to test the mettle of opponents.

And now an entire school has performed the celebrated war dance in an eerie act to intimidate their rivals before a New Zealand schoolboy rugby match.

Preparing for a match against the blue ribbon Wanganui Collegiate, hundreds of students from New Plymouth Boys High School lined up around the sports field and joined their team in a pre-match haka.

Like a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's celebrated film, The Birds, the grey-uniformed students surrounded the ground from all points to ambush their visitors.

Only instead of squawking and attacking, the New Plymouth students rose as one to deliver a chilling rendition of the haka.

The all school haka is somewhat of a tradition at New Plymouth with footage of this performance going viral.

Wanganui Collegiate is regarded as one of New Zealand's most prestigious boarding schools, counting the likes of Prince Edward, All Blacks World Cup winning captain Michael Kirk and Law Lord Robin Cooke among its alumni.

But all their history and high achievers counted for nothing against New Plymouth whose performance on the field matched the passion of their haka with a 67-0 thrashing.