There were immediate doubts about whether the timing was appropriate: having continually expressed confidence in Kirwan, the Blues board would appear either mentally weak or incompetent if their faith could be crushed in only three weeks.
Nor does anyone like such clumsy and indeed nasty recruitment ploys. Kirwan has been relentlessly open, transparent and honest while coach of the Blues and whatever his longer term future with the franchise, he at the very least should expect reciprocal treatment.
But as to whether the Blues would be considering finding a new coach for next year? No one doubted that was possible. If not probable.
Results will now determine Kirwan's future. Since he took the job in 2013, he's been given ample leeway to fix matters behind the scenes.
Professional teams are big into this whole team culture thing. They love to talk of environments and systems - for the structure to be right.
No one ever really knows what any of that means but the Blues board have been patient and, according to those in the know, genuinely impressed at what Kirwan has achieved.
The board, though, must be equally conscious that $4 million of private investment has been tipped into the Blues. Investors need a return on that and the business plan of a professional rugby side is dead easy to follow.
It goes like this: teams play good rugby and win games. When they win, fans spend money to be there and sponsors start knocking on the door. That's it. The problem for the Blues in 2015 is they haven't yet won. That's a particular problem for Kirwan as they only won six games in 2013 and seven last year.
Paying punters aren't so interested in cultures and environments. Not in an abstract way at least. They certainly don't give two hoots about such things when the team has only won 13 of 35 games.
There is no solace to be found in the knowledge that while the team lost a game they should have won in Bloemfontein, they did have a wonderfully well organised, wide ranging and therapeutic debrief.
There comes a point in any coaching tenure when even the most loyal fans need to have their conviction bolstered by unambiguous performances.
Nothing else matters but the way the players execute the basics. Nothing else matters but the effectiveness and cleverness of the gameplan and the players' ability to follow it, implement it and adapt it if needs be.
Kirwan now finds himself in this particular place. If he is to hold his job beyond this season, the Blues need to be accurate and decisive at set-piece. The backs need to run straight and hard. The tempo needs to lift. The rugby needs to be played at the right end of the field and the decision making needs to be sharper.
Clinical, explosive, creative rugby is what excites Aucklanders. The waiting has to end.
- Gregor Paul of the New Zealand Herald
