Video: A Chinese haka to support the Rugby World Cup

Shanghainese rugby fans perform a milder version of New Zealand's Haka.
(If video does not play, please try changing your browser.) 

Although it might take a while for team China to appear in the Rugby World Cup, Shanghai fans have already picked their favorite in this year’s biggest rugby event.

This YouTube video, posted and produced by Shanghai-based Kiwi expat Mark Tanner, shows Shanghai residents performing a less intimidating version of the haka -- a traditional Maori dance performed by New Zealand's national rugby team before every game -- against Shanghai’s symbolic Lujiazui skyline.

A number of pedestrians on the Bund and Nanjing Dong Lu also stop by to cheer for New Zealand’s national rugby team by hailing, “All Blacks, you are the best.”

More on CNNGo: Rugby World Cup 2011: The New Zealand Experience

Wellington native Tanner, 35, made this video to show his support for his home country from halfway around the world.

“It was also an opportunity to show people back home how fun Chinese can be and possibly raise the profile of rugby and New Zealand in China a little,” says adventurer, writer and marketing professional Tanner, who cycled across Canada and paddled through the Nile before moving to China a year ago. (Follow Mark Tanner's adventure on his blog.) 

According to Tanner, some of the interviewees were real All Blacks fans who started following the team after living or studying in New Zealand. Others knew little about rugby.

“One of my friends knew nothing about rugby, but [he] saw the haka and was immediately a fan,” explains Tanner. “He loves the passion and flair.”

After some guidance, an enthusiastic Shanghai lady even shouts out, “Richie McCaw [captain of All Blacks], I will marry you.”

The only ones that are not impressed by the Shanghai version of haka seem to be the uniformed chen guan (urban inspectors), who prompt Tanner and the crew to stop shooting on the Bund.