Team New Zealand’s loyal campaign has all the signs of imploding. First, their true blue Kiwi blood was diluted by the replacement of indigenous tactician Hamish Pepper by French sailor Bertrand Pacé. Now the flag-waving itself has a nationality crisis.

New Zealand’s Green Party is up in arms about the black flags being sold in support of Team New Zealand. These sport a silver fern and the rapidly tarnishing slogan ‘Loyal’. The Green Party has pointed out that the flags are made in China.

“We’ve checked out the manufacturers and they were capable of making them at the price and they should have been given a chance,” said Mike Ward of the Green Party.

So are New Zealanders being ‘royal’ than ‘loyal’?