The All Blacks are now 80 minutes from one of the biggest redemption stories in their long and successful history, a potential achievement indelibly linked to their previously under-fire and now unwanted head coach Ian Foster.
Does he, in the aftermath of his morning’s comprehensive 44-6 defeat of Argentina in the first World Cup semifinal have a message for his critics who wrote him and his team off last year, a pessimism that only deepened once the All Blacks lost to the Boks at Twickenham and France in the tournament opener?
After all, he will be out of a job shortly, no matter what happens next Sunday.
The answer is no. Not yet, anyway.
“There’s not a personal agenda here,” Foster said. “This is about the All Blacks and the team. Things have happened to individuals and to me, but the team comes first. Right now we’re making a lot of those decisions together as a group and it is working well."
“I am proud to be part of this group, the coaches are linking well with the players and there is a nice synergy about it. But you know, one more week.”
Should the All Blacks win next Sunday’s World Cup final at the Stade de France against the winner of tomorrow morning's second semifinal between England and South Africa, Foster’s comeback will be complete and will raise all sorts of questions.
That's probably for then, though. Another obvious one at this point is who he would like to play in the final.
Predictably, he said he didn’t mind. There will be no doubt, though, that with an added day’s rest compared with England and the Boks, Foster will want the two teams to go hammer and tongs at each other and if England somehow upset the odds against the world champions, well, that would probably be a great result for the All Blacks.
"I'l be watching it - have some popcorn and watch it,” Foster said of semifinal two.
“But I don't care who wins. We are focused on ourselves and the extra day gives us chance to have a break mentally. South Africa have been playing some brilliant rugby but we've also seen an English team that has built quietly. It will be an interesting contrast of styles."
His side didn’t have to reach too deeply into the toolbox to account for a limited Pumas side who beat Foster’s men in Christchurch last year but who had no answer to New Zealand’s set piece dominance or water-tight defence.
With Will Jordan in sparkling form on the right wing – he scored a hat-trick and should have had a fourth try late in the game - and the returning Mark Tele’a who caught the eye on the left with his power, the All Blacks had far too many weapons for a side who had to dig deep last weekend to beat Wales in their quarter-final.
Asked about his wings and their elusiveness, Foster said: "They played well and had to. Mark was strong in the close-quarter areas and defended really well. I thought Will showed how well he finishes things off. I am delighted with the relationship they have and then you have Beauden [Barrett] who is the glue in the middle."
The drop-off in intensity after last weekend’s 28-24 quarter-final win over Ireland was noticeable but the All Blacks played with almost total control after another scratchy start.
Beyond their set piece supremacy, the All Blacks tackled with similar determination to last weekend and kicked intelligently - a tactic clearly designed to constantly turn and therefore tire the Pumas forwards.
Michael Chieka's men looked broken by halftime. Down 20-6 at the break, they faced severe scoreboard pressure and the damp conditions compounded their lack of attacking spark.
“We’ve played Argentina in the past and we know they are a team that can frustrate, stay in the fight and often accumulate points in threes,” skipper Sam Cane said. “We wanted to be patient and a lot of credit has go to the forward pack.
“We wanted to scrum well and drive well and we made the most of our opportunities. The scrum penalty just before half-time allowed us to get down their end and score, that was huge. I am really pleased with the effort and we have to go again now.”
What about the criticism that came after those two significant defeats last month?
"Outside noise is something we have become accustomed to blocking out,” he added. “We focus on what's important in the group. We trust the coaching staff immensely, we trust the plan. We are a very different team now. We've had players coming back. It feels like we have built nicely to this point."
Second-five Jordie Barrett, who tackled with ferocity throughout and was named the official man of the match, said: "It's so sweet. It's new territory for this group. We slipped at the semi-final hurdle four years ago. I am just so proud of this group. It's not done yet. We will have a very tough match regardless of who we have next week. It's another week, which we are so grateful for."
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