God Defend New Zealand was swapped out with You Will Never Buy Better at the end of the anthem. OPINION/SATIRE: Welcome back to Eden Park where the Silver Lake All Blacks today put paid to worries that their new part-owners would aggressively exploit the brand for commercial gain to the detriment of the game, as Italy were trounced 28-0 in an encounter acting captain Sam Whitelock described as “more satisfying than a mighty KFC Quarter Pack… mmm, that’s good”. A surefooted Jordie Barrett edged the trickily-angled conversion right through the centre of the new-look goal-posts in the form of inverted McDonalds arches. The only sour note was when a rare bad call by the referee was met by chorus of “Should’ve gone to Specsavers” from the stands, which was quickly closed down. A spokesman for Silver Lake described the match as “excellent” and when questioned as to whether increased commercial exploitation could damage the All Blacks' legacy, added only “release the hounds”.

Source: Stuff April 30, 2021 17:03 UTC