Greer Perenara - wife of All Blacks halfback TJ Perenara - has taken aim at the media for provocative articles that incite bullying, after New Zealand's shock loss to Argentina.
For the first time in 30 attempts, Argentina defied the odds to claim a 25-15 win at Sydney's Bankwest Stadium.
After last weekend's shock loss to the Wallabies, coach Ian Foster named his strongest starting XV, but it wasn't enough to cope against a spirited Pumas side.
Greer Perenara has blamed the media for "phishing with some ridiculous articles", which provoke bullying on social media towards players.
Last week, TJ Perenara was that player, widely criticised for his performance in a 24-22 defeat to Australia in Brisbane, with some suggesting the All Blacks would have won if he hadn't played.
Perenara was given the week off and watched his side fall to Argentina from the stands.
Former All Blacks wing Cory Jane tweets: "Wonder who the NZ public are gonna pick apart after this game like they did last week with TJ Perenara."
His post has received support from Black Ferns Sevens captain Sarah Hirini and former All Black Julian Savea.
Since the fulltime whistle, Greer Perenara has tweeted: "Lucky that Perenara didn’t play tonight. [The] Team was much better without him."
She then claims media always tend to pick on the fall guy, like Rieko Ioane, who dropped the ball over the line in the act of scoring during the drawn first Bledisloe Cup test against Australia last month.
Greer Perenara says that criticism was wrong, given recent focus on mental health.
"My point is... an entire 80mins of footy is not the doing of one man," she tweeted.
"It never is. Yet, we try and find the fall man every time.
"Why? Cause it’s easy? Cause we 'need' answers? I duno [sic]?
"But we don't need bullying. Targeting. Scapegoating at the expense of someone's mental health."
"With access to articles and news outlets via social media, and the ability for the general public to comment on these articles, we see more and more bullying behaviour," she says.
"Yet we campaign about mental health and suicide prevention - especially when it comes to our tāne in NZ.
"Media provokes it by phishing with some ridiculous 'articles'. To all the fans who simply congratulated Argentina for some quality footy: that’s what we need right there."
Former All Blacks first-five Lima Sopoaga also expresses a similar view.
"If you ain't got nothing nice to say, keep it moving," he says. "They tried their best and on the day, the Pumas played better and deserved the win. It's that simple."
Join us on November 28 for live updates of the All Blacks v Argentina Tri Nations clash
