Bolstering the All Blacks coaching and 'technical advisor' ranks by adding Joe Schmidt, Andrew Strawbridge and Mike Cron in one swoop was a white flag moment in which the NZR basically admitted it got the appointment of Foster horribly wrong.
Scott Robertson, with a head coaching record on a different planet to Foster, was overlooked because, presumably, the Graham Henry dominated advisory panel found holes in his game plan.
But they are nothing compared to the holes in Foster's regime, which NZR has had to plug with a coach load of new coaches.
All Blacks head coach Ian Foster. Photo / Photosport
If all of this was properly planned, NZR could have appointed Robertson or Jamie Joseph with (take a big breath) John Plumtree, Brad Mooar, Greg Feek, Cron, Schmidt and Strawbridge assisting in various ways.
Or to put it another way, imagine what the superb, well-honed Jamie Joseph/Tony Brown combo could have achieved with all of this sort of back-up.
The reason they appointed Foster, allegedly, is because he had the experience and knowledge and ability already.
The real reason they appointed Foster is because he was already in the in-crowd.
Foster's All Blacks faltered badly last year. In announcing the changes in recent days, NZR seemed to pinpoint a lack of athletic, powerful, ball-playing tight forwards as a problem, one which has been obvious - particularly with the props - to any reasonably keen observer for a decade.
It was even obvious to Steve Hansen and Foster, who dropped Owen Franks when the bulwark prop was only a few stolid steps from the 2019 World Cup plane.
And yet I don't see anyone in the new mix of coaches with any proven knack towards solving a problem which must have its roots at much lower levels.
It is a really strange business, and kind of funny, seeing the man with all the experience being given these training wheels (as one emailer to my desk put it).
The appointment of 'technical advisor' Schmidt is a smart one, without a shadow of a doubt.
Joe Schmidt will join the All Blacks coaching team later this year. Photo / Photosport
But it also means Scott Robertson stands to be a considerable loser.
NZR's obsession with succession might mean European success story Schmidt, also an All Blacks selector, is suddenly in pole position to replace Foster.
What a tangled web they weave, in the name of getting out of a jam.
To give the NZR some credit, at least they have done something.
And on the plus side, Team Foster does feel a little more sophisticated than a famously similar case of mild panic and confusion more than 30 years ago, when Alex Wyllie and John Hart set off for the World Cup in a doomed marriage of convenience.
Winner: Ted Scott
Who?
Scottie Scheffler's caddy. That's who.
I've never heard a caddy get so much praise, the way Scott did from the TV commentators during Scheffler's triumphant Masters golf performance.
Moving on…
We might be witnessing the second coming of superstar Rory McIlroy, who was brilliant on the final day at Augusta. That would be wonderful for golf.
But he and everyone else will have to get past the phlegmatic Scheffler (not to mention his caddie) who looks to have the game and character to win plenty more. It was a beautifully plotted and played victory.
Winner: The Blues and Beauden Barrett
Beauden Barrett after the Blues' win over the Chiefs. Photo / Photosport
There's a new character to Leon MacDonald's side.
Unlike so many Blues teams of the past, they are a sure bet to at least play with conviction every week. The Blues - with Crusaders recruit Luke Romano prominent - physically pummelled the Chiefs who were without a couple of All Black forwards.
And watching the wizard Beauden Barrett pull the strings makes you think of all the lost years, when a slew of Blues first five-eighths were at the heart of, and a symptom of, a mismanaged franchise and faltering team.
Oh what might have been.
Winner: England rugby
The English women are in ominous and powerful form in the Six Nations. It's hard to see the world's number one ranked team being beaten in the delayed World Cup, to be held in Auckland and Whangarei later this year. They are crushing the opposition and also look to have plenty more in the tank.
Winner/Loser: Warriors and extra time
It's being whispered all around town…the Warriors have won three in a row.
Realistic observers know they have scraped past three of the poorer NRL sides, and history says Warriors seasons almost always end in tears.
But it is encouraging. Fair play to Nathan Brown and co.
As for their win over the Cowboys thanks to Shaun Johnson's field goal, I'm not a fan of the golden point.
There's nothing wrong with a draw, teams would try harder to break deadlocks if they didn't have the cushion, and extra time turns into a field goal lottery.
It also means not all games in the league are played on the same basis. In other words, if you can't manage to win in normal time, why are you afforded extra time to do it? It's actually very unfair.
Then again, golden point does produce nail biting if contrived drama. But golden point wins are like sugar rushes which quickly become unsatisfying.
