Auckland rugby coach Alama Ieremia has warned that time is running out on Julian Savea, if the former All Black wants to wear the blue-and-white hoops in 2020.
Savea returned to New Zealand in June, ending a tumultuous stint with French club Toulon.
The powerful ball-runner linked up with the Hurricanes for the final two weeks of Super Rugby Aotearoa as injury cover and returned to the field in Wellington club rugby last month.
The 54-test All Black lives in Auckland and has told Newshub he wants to play Mitre 10 Cup for a province in the region.
North Harbour and Counties-Manukau have already announced their squads for the 2020 campaign, leaving Northland and Auckland as possible destinations for the 30-year-old.
Ieremia has told Newshub he spoke with Savea during the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown earlier this year, but hasn't heard from him since. He urges the former Wellington Lions star to make up his mind over his future.
"We connected when he arrived home, but that was back in the original lockdown," Ieremia says. "He has to make his mind up about where he wants to play, so that's probably a question for him.
"He just needs to tell us when he has his mind made up, because we are pretty happy where our squad is at."
A winger through most of his career, Savea turned out for the Oriental Rongatai club at the unfamiliar position of second-five and was keen to develop in that role.
But a move to Auckland might not be the best fit for his midfield aspirations, according to Ieremia.
"I know he said he wants to play No.12, but playing midfield in club rugby is a little different to Mitrr 10 Cup, so we will see."
Just getting his side on the field will be a treat for Ieremia, who has been limited to online training sessions, since Auckland plunged into lockdown two weeks ago.
With two pre-season games already cancelled and their September 4 hitout now unlikely, Auckland - along with Counties-Manukau, Northland and North Harbour - face the prospect of no rugby before the September 11 competition kickoff.
"We haven't even come together as a group yet. As with most businesses and the like, we have had plenty of Zoom meetings to keep in touch and make sure we are on top of as much as we can be in times like this.
"The players have been given their own training programmes and fortunately a lot of these guys have been through this process before with the Blues
"But we are running out of time to come physically together as a team - we are just rolling with the punches for now."
The former All Blacks midfielder hopes the team will be allowed to train together in some capacity before September 6, when the country may be back to Alert Level 1.
"We are just looking for some clarity around what that looks like in terms of training and the numbers of players we are allowed.
"There are protocols around health and safety, so we just need to get our head around that, but we realise there are more important things going on at the moment around the country.
"You have to make the best of what you have, but the priority for me is the players' health.
"We have a great strength and conditioning programme, so the guys are all up to date with where they need to be, but what that looks like when we come together is unclear
"Injury management is really important so we need to make sure we are on top of niggles."
Auckland's first Mitre 10 Cup game is scheduled against Otago in Dunedin on September 12.
Join Newshub for live updates of the Mitre 10 Cup from September 11
