The Simpsons' savage diss of Wellington at rugby hasn't escaped the attention of Ardie Savea, who was shown the clip for the first time at training on Tuesday.
In a new episode of the animated series, Bart Simpson can be seen gambling on 'New Zealand Rules Rugby', before tipping Wellington to beat Auckland.
But after appearing to lose the bet, the renowned cartoon troublemaker proclaims "Whatever rugby is, Wellington sucks at it."
After being shown the clip, an amused Savea was quick to mention that Wellington are the current National Provincial Championship title holders.
"Did he just say Wellington sucks?," the Lions stalwart asked. "We're the champs man. "That's pretty cool. They must have a connection, [but] that's pretty cool."
While Savea was happy to share in a laugh, he was much more tightlipped on whether he will lace up the boots for the Hurricanes on Saturday.
After their shock loss to Fijian Drua last week, the Hurricanes play Pacific neighbours Moana Pasifika at Wellington.
But the fixture against the competition's bottom-ranked side could see Savea rested, as part of the All Blacks protocol orders.
He wouldn't say if he expects to play, but he isn't feeling the pressure to bounce back from the defeat against Fijian Drua.
"I think it's important to play every game and it's even important that the whole team play well this week," Savea said.
"We owe it to ourselves and owe it to the jersey to come out this week, in front of our home fans, and put in a performance that all of us are proud of.
"We talk about pressure all the time, and for me personally, I feel like we overdo it in rugby terms. We always talk about pressure, but we have to embrace it and walk towards it.
"The more you talk about something, the more it burdens you. We have to deal with those moments, we have to be mentally more tough and more aware.
"I don't like talking about pressure, because pressure is the people out on the streets, pressure is what's going on in our world. We're just playing a game of footy in the scheme of things."
