France have been fined 10,000 pounds for advancing on the Kiwi's Haka before the kickoff of Sunday's Rugby World Cup Final.
The IRB had stated that Les Bleus had failed to stay the required distance from the haka, which is behind the 10 meter line in their own half.
The French captain Thierry Dusautoir had led his team in a V-formation towards the traditional war dance given by the All Black.
"At one stage we were so close to them that they wanted to kiss the New
Zealanders, but I told them to take it easy. It was a great moment and a
moment we will remember all our lives," Dusautoir said.
"We talked that they'd bring something different and they did, but the
game doesn’t start until the whistle blows does it?" said the All Black captain Richies McCaw.
"If anything, it showed us what we were in for and that's exactly what we got."
"They were right up for the game as we expected and they certainly made it tough."
France
are not the only side to deploy similar tactics, Ireland famously
advanced past the halfway line when facing the haka in 1989.