And Tonga will be performing their pre-match war dance at the tournament against South Africa tonight.
1
Which Rugby World Cup teams have a pre-match war dance?
As well as the All Blacks, all three participating Pacific Islands – Fiji, Samoa and Tonga – perform a pre-match war dance.
What is the Tonga dance called and what are the lyrics?
Tonga’s war dance is called the Sipi Tau and was penned by King Tama Tu’i Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV in 1994.
It was written in commemoration of a successful tour of New Zealand that year, and has had a variety of different lyrics ever since.
The Sipi Tau has been one of the most entertaining dances in world rugby, not least because the amount of times the Tongans have faced New Zealand and the Haka at World Cups.
In one match, in 2003, Tonga and New Zealand even performed the Sipi Tau and Haka at the same time in a dance-off.
The current lyrics are from 2011 and as follows:
Tongan
Teuaki ki he tau!
Tonga!
Teu lea pea tala ki mamani katoa
Ko e ʻIkale Tahi kuo halofia.
Ke ʻilo ʻe he sola mo e taka
Ko e ʻaho ni te u tamate tangata,
‘A e haafe mo e tautuaʻa
Kuo huʻi hoku anga tangata.
Ei!
E!
Ei!
E!
Te u peluki e molo mo e foueti taka,
Pea ngungu mo ha loto fitaʻa
Ngungu!
ʻIo!
Ngungu!
ʻIo!
Ko Tonga pe mate ki he moto (Leader)
Otua mo Tonga ko hoku tofi’a
Ei e!
TONGA!
English
Get ready to the battle!
Tonga!
I shall speak to the whole world
The Sea Eagles are famished unfurl.
Let the foreigner and sojourner beware
Today, destroyer of souls, I am everywhere
To the halfback and backs
Gone has my humanness.
Hey! hey!
Ay!
Aye!
Aye!
Maul and loose forwards shall I mow
And crunch any fierce hearts you know
Crunch!
Yeah!
Crunch!
Yeah!
That’s how Tonga dies to her motto
God and Tonga are my inheritance.
Aye, ay!
Tonga!
What is the Fiji dance called and what are the lyrics?
Fiji’s war dance is called the Cibi, which then-captain Ratu Cakobau came up with in 1939 as a way of competing with the Haka on a tour of New Zealand.
The lyrics are as follows:
Fijian
(Leader)Vaka rau! Cibi!
Ai tei vovo, tei vovo
E ya, e ya, e ya, e ya;
Tei vovo, tei vovo
E ya, e ya, e ya, e ya
Rai tu mai, rai tu mai
Oi au a virviri kemu bai
Rai tu mai, rai tu mai
Oi au a virviri kemu bai
Toa yalewa, toa yalewa
Veico, veico, veico
Au tabu moce koi au
Au moce ga ki domo ni biau
E luvu koto ki ra nomu waqa
O kaya beka au sa luvu sara
Nomu bai e wa mere
Au tokia ga ka tasere
Tuletule buka sa dredre
Tuletule buka sa dredre
Tou vaka tosoya
Vaka malua.
E ya, e ya, e ya, e ya
English
Get ready! Cibi!
The war-fence, the war-fence,
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,
The war-fence, the war-fence
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Look here, look here,
I attack your defences,
Look here, look here,
I attack your defences
A rooster and a hen,
They attack, attack, attack
It is forbidden for me to slumber
Except to the sound of breaking waves
Your ship lies sunken below,
You say I may have drowned.
Your fence is just made of creapers
I peck at it, and it comes undone.
I turn the tree to uproot it,
It is difficult but it is there.
The tree is out of the ground
Slowly, we are able to move it.
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!
What is the Samoa dance called and what are the lyrics?
Samoa’s war dance is called the Siva Tau.
It was first used in 1991 after the rugby team switched from the more traditional Maulu’ulu Moa to a song they felt more effective in psyching up the players.
The lyrics are as follows:
Samoan
Samoa!
Tatou o e tau le taua!
Tau e matua tau!
Fai ia mafai!
Le Manu!
Team: Sau ia!
Le Manu Samoa e ua malo ona fai o le faiva
Le Manu Samoa e ua malo ona fai o le faiva
Le Manu Samoa lenei ua ou sau
Leai se isi Manu oi le atu laulau
Ua ou sau nei ma le mea atoa
O lou malosi ua atoatoa
Ia e faatafa ma e soso ese
Leaga o lenei manu e uiga ese
Le Manu Samoa
Le Manu Samoa
Le Manu Samoa e o mai I Samoa
Le Manu!
English
Samoa!
Let’s go to the war!
Fight fiercely!
Work to achieve!
The Manu!
Let’s go!
The Manu Samoa, may you succeed in your mission
The Manu Samoa, may you succeed in your mission
The Manu Samoa here we have come
There is no other Manu (team) anywhere
Here I come completely prepared
My strength is at its peak
Make way and move aside
Because this Manu is unique
The Manu Samoa
The Manu Samoa
The Manu Samoa reigns from Samoa
The Manu!