Robert Irwin has upped the ante in his friendly “feud” with Sunrise’s Sam Mac.
As the weather presenter enjoyed a day of leave, the wildlife warrior filled in, reporting live from Australia Zoo.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Robert Irwin renews rivalry with Sam Mac while filling in as Sunrise weather presenter.
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The light-hearted banter started when Robert began filling in for Sam on Sunrise, jokingly campaigning to knock his rival out of the job.
“We’re just going to up the ante, it’s just gonna get bigger and bigger and bigger,” Robert said on Thursday morning during his first live cross.
Introducing a tortoise from Australia Zoo, Robert revealed the animal happened to be named Sam.
“He’s a critically endangered elongated tortoise.
“Critically endangered … a bit like Sam Mac’s career at the moment.”
Back in the studio, hosts Monique Wright and Matt Shirvington reacted, with Shirvo teasingly drawing up a tally, writing “Robert 1, Sam 0”.
“But, no, he really is beautiful and just, oh, mate, we love him,” Robert carried on.
The jab comes after Robert called for a petition to replace Sam as the Sunrise weatherman.
The banter happened after a fan was seen in one of Sam’s live crosses holding a controversial sign that read, “Robert Irwin 4 Weatherman”.
When Sam spotted the placard, he said: “And just when you think that you’re welcome in a town, you notice this sign. Tara — that’s very, very generous of you to bring that this morning when I felt everyone loved me here.”