Prime Minister John Key is brushing off criticism for not using a Maori greeting at the opening of the Rugby World Cup.
The ceremony in Auckland included a performance of a greeting, waiata and haka by Te Roopu Haka, Te Matarae i o Rehu, from Te Arawa.
A kapa haka judge as well as a former chief executive at the Maori Language Commission says Mr Key let tangata whenua down by not using a Maori greeting.
But Mr Key says he had only one and a half minutes to make a speech, and it wasn't tightly scripted.
He says normally he always uses a Maori greeting, but decided not to on that occasion.
