Eddie Jones on haka: 'They could be playing the Spice Girls'

England’s Australian head coach Eddie Jones’ pre-match mind games continue as he let media know where his attention will lie when the All Blacks perform the haka on Saturday afternoon.

The 58-year-old joked that he wouldn’t notice if the Spice Girls were singing instead of the haka being performed.

https://twitter.com/nick_mcavaney/status/1060535058115842049

“At that stage of the game, they could be playing the Spice Girls and I wouldn’t know what’s being played,” Jones said at a press conference on Thursday.

“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.”

Opposition teams have tried different ways of dealing with the pre-match ritual including declining to face it or confronting it nose-to-nose.

The haka has previously been met at Twickenham with booming chants of “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” from home fans.

As Jones alluded to, the successful British girl band of late-90s fame announced this week that they will reunite for a tour next year.

There will be another reunion of sorts at Twickenham on Saturday, when England face Steve Hansen’s All Blacks for the first time in four years.

England haven’t beaten the All Blacks in six years, their last victory by a record margin 38-21 in 2012. In their five meetings since, the All Blacks have won by a collective margin of 138-98.

In other news: