OPINION: The day after the All Blacks' win at Ellis Park - a win that secured Ian Foster's future as head coach, tipped the scales back in his favour through to the Rugby World Cup - senior players made an unscheduled appearance at his morning media call.
They didn't need to be there, they certainly didn't have to be there, but they wanted to be there.
They wanted to show they had his back, wanted to present a united front in an All Black team that had been put through the wringer all year.
They wanted to show NZ Rugby and the New Zealand public they had Foster's back.
Well, a fortnight later, on a rather mild night in Christchurch, they undid it all.
All the public support they'd gone out of their way to show suddenly meant nothing, after an All Black capitulation that put Foster's future once again back in the headlines.
The onfield leadership went missing, as the All Blacks failed to adjust to referee Nika Amashukeli's interpretations, succumbing to repeated infringements, as the Pumas kicked their way to a historic victory.
That is not a coaching issue, that is an onfield leadership issue, and with every penalty Emiliano Boffeli knocked over, with every All Black offside, ruck infringement and breakdown penalty, the pressure on Foster intensified.
That is no way to back up your public showing of support. Foster deserved better from his players in his first test since being retained through to the World Cup.
What he didn't deserve was a performance that poured even more scrutiny on his coaching future.
They have a chance to make sure their actions match their words in Hamilton on Saturday night.
The noise around their coach's future is going to become deafening if they can't.
Ollie Ritchie is Newshub's rugby reporter. Join us at 7pm Saturday for live updates of the All Blacks v Argentina Rugby Championship clash
