All Blacks unleash dramatic new haka 

It is as defining and famous as their rugby prowess, but on Saturday night, the All Blacks surprised everyone when they unleashed a new rendition of their pre-match haka.

The especially written war cry has been a closely-guarded secret among players, who have been rehearsing and refining it for months.

And while it's debut at Carisbrook proved popular among fans, don't expect to see it performed at every test.

The pre-match haka is the brainchild of the players who say they want to forge a new legacy.

"It also represented a lot of the things we felt were strong within us, the blackness of the jersey, the silver fern," says All Blacks captain Tana Umaga.

The new war cry was written for the team by Ngati Porou's Derek Lardelli and players had spent months rehearsing it but kept the secret to themselves.

"It was fantastic. It's always awesome to stand in front of the haka," says South African captain John Smit.

"It's probably one of the most special things about playing the All Blacks."

The new haka will be used alongside the traditional 'ka' mate' which was popularised a century ago and used in various guises almost ever since.

"You've got to move with the times and these young men have thought about it and gone to a few people I'm sure and they do the haka so much better than we ever did it," says former All Black Tane Norton.

"I mean, we used to love doing the haka and loved doing it for the people of New Zealand but now they practice it with a lot of passion and do a good job of it," he says.

A new challenge to take a new generation of All Blacks on to victory.