NZ Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson admits the risk of losing successful Crusaders coach Scott Robertson to offshore rivals is very real, but won't be drawn on the likelihood of a pre-emptive strike.
Robertson, who has guided the Christchurch-based franchise to six Super Rugby crowns since 2017, looms as a successor to incumbent All Blacks coach Ian Foster, but has been the subject of foreign interest that may seem him lured away before that transition can take place.
Foster barely survived with his job intact this year, after a horror stretch of results that saw the national side lose six of eight games, but was eventually confirmed through next year's World Cup and turned the programme around with an unbeaten run of seven tests to end the 2022 campaign.
Meanwhile, Robertson guided the UK-based Barbarians to victory over the All Blacks XV last month and has emerged as a candidate to take over the reins of England from Australian mastermind Eddie Jones, either before or after the World Cup.
Robinson has told Newshub the timing of the next All Blacks coaching appointment is a sensitive issue that may not wait until after the next tournament.
"It's very clear from speculation in the media that a lot of countries are moving early in this space and did also in the last cycle in 2019/20," he said. "We have to understand the international market.
"We have to have a huge focus on our own people, having the right and respectful conversations there. Team performance comes into consideration - all those things are balanced up, as well as our own rugby system, our own clubs and the succession planning around them.
"As always in rugby, multi-faceted, quite complex and involving lots of different conversations."
In backing Foster through to the World Cup, Robinson was very careful to endorse Robertson - his former Canterbury, Crusaders and All Blacks teammate - as having a "great future" in New Zealand rugby and is keenly aware he may jump at the chance to coach elsewhere, if his path to the All Blacks role remains blocked.
Robertson, 48, would not be the first Kiwi to coach international opponents, before returning to steer the NZ national team. Sir Graham Henry and Sir Steve Hansen both coached Wales, before guiding the All Blacks to World Cup victories, while former Ireland mastermind Joe Schmidt is a key member of the current staff.
Former Chiefs coach Dave Rennie has the reins of Australia, while former Auckland and North Harbour coach Wayne Pivac is in charge of Wales.
"We've seen this over the years," Robinson told Newshub. "There's been a huge amount of talent leave our shores and coach in different places.
"We've said often that we value Scott incredibly highly - he's a really strong coaching talent.
"We'd love to be in a position to keep all our coaching talent in New Zealand, that's not always possible, but we have regular conversations with our key talent in this space and will continue to do that."
Foster, who was Hansen's assistant at the 2019 World Cup, has a 68 percent winning record as All Blacks head coach - the worst in the professional era - while his 2022 campaign has been marred by a first home series loss to Ireland and first home defeat against Argentina.
He secured the Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup with home-and-away wins over the Wallabies - one of those resulted from the infamous 'time-wasting' penalty - while the northern hemisphere tour featured narrow escapes against Japan and Scotland, before England made up a 19-point deficit in the final 10 minutes for a draw at Twickenham.
Still, Robinson is encouraged by the results.
"With the All Blacks, we want to win every game, and we're working really hard at the moment to ensure the team's got the right support and the right level of resourcing to make that happen," he said.
"At the culmination of this tour, we're getting into a review to see what needs to be tweaked and moved, but we're looking at improvements over more recent times and we're really looking at making sure the team is supporting as much as we can into the World Cup."
