New Zealand continued to reclaim their supremacy in their rivlary with Ireland last weekend in the Autumn Internationals by way of their 23-13 success.
The rivalry, which was really kickstarted by Irish wins against the All Blacks in Chicago in 2016 and in Dublin in 2018, has become one of the most box-office bouts in the world of rugby.
A three-Test series win on New Zealand soil for Andy Farrell's Ireland took things to even greater heights in 2022, athough the All Blacks did exact their revenge when it mattered most - in the quarter-finals of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Player tussles, including spats between Sam Cane and Peter O'Mahony as well as jibes between Rieko Ioane and Johnny Sexton have added more fuel to the fire between the two teams in the last couple of years.
There was further cause for animosity from a New Zealand perspective when they had felt disrespected ahead of their most recent win against Ireland.
One aspect of the pre-game buildup did not go down well with the All Blacks fans, with the New Zealand anthem seemingly cut short.
After President Michael D Higgins greeted the two teams, the anthems were played. However, it was clear that something was wrong when some New Zealand players could be seen continuing to sing as the band finished playing.
It quickly became clear that a verse had apparently been cut from the New Zealand anthem. The anthem is part in English and part in Maori, leading to some variation in how many verses are traditionally sung; however the English section of the anthem had not been played out on the night.
Several New Zealand players looked perplexed as the anthem concluded, showing that this was an unexpectedly short rendition of 'God Defend New Zealand.'
New Zealand finished their national anthem after beating Ireland
The All Blacks put things right on the field from their perspective, with Damian McKenzie pulling the strings in what was a comfortable enough win against a hugely ill-disciplined Ireland side.
Ireland - who have since returned to winning ways against Argentina - failed to trouble the team who they came within inches of beating at the big one in France last year.
The botched national anthem clearly played on the minds of the All Blacks players, who were filmed singing the rest of their anthem in the dressing room as they basked in their victory afterwards.
Footage from the All Blacks' behind-the-scenes YouTube series Together We Walk (13:12) captured Ardie Savea and Co singing their hearts out in the bowels of the Aviva Stadium.
Safe to say they were happy to have gotten another one over on Ireland; especially in the circumstances.
There was never any subsequent statement to address why the New Zealand national anthem had but cut short on the Dublin 4 venue's PA system prior to the contest.
