As three New Zealand Super Rugby franchises seek to fill head coaching vacancies next season, Newshub can reveal Kiwi coaching ranks have suffered another blow.
Just six weeks ago, Jamie Joseph was down to the final two to be the next All Blacks boss. Now, he won't even be coming home to coach.
Newshub can reveal that the Japanese national team mentor and former Highlanders coach has signed with Shizuoka, the club formerly known as Yamaha.
The highly-respected and experienced coach's move comes hot on the heels of Dave Rennie's call to turn his back on the Blues and head to Japan to coach Kobe Steelers, after he was sacked by Rugby Australia at the start of the year.
As a professional coach, Joseph boasts a record as good as any New Zealand has to offer.
At provincial level, the 53-year-old former All Black boasts a winning percentage of over 71 with Wellington, after three seasons in the capital.
In Super Rugby, Joseph led the Highlanders for six seasons - and won the Dunedin side's first and so far only title, defeating the Hurricanes in 2015.
After the 2015 Rugby World Cup, Joseph took charge of Eddie Jones' Japan - fresh from a history-making victory over South Africa.
In 42 tests, Joseph has coached Japan to 20 victories, including topping their pool at the 2019 Rugby World Cup - finishing first ahead of both Ireland and Scotland.
Eventual champions South Africa were the only team to defeat Joseph's Japan at the tournament.
With the Māori All Blacks, Joseph boasts a winning record of more than 83 percent, coaching five victories from six matches.
Those results saw Joseph initially considered a contender to replace Sir Steve Hansen after he left the All Blacks' head coaching role in 2019, before withdrawing from the race alongside assistant Tony Brown.
After four further years with Japan leading to this year's World Cup in France, Joseph was seen as a potential replacement for Ian Foster before Scott Robertson was appointed to that role.
But he's just the latest coach to opt for the Yen rather than the New Zealand dollar, adding further questions as to just who will fill those gaps at Super Rugby level.
At present, the Crusaders, Blues and Hurricanes are all in the market for a new coach from 2024, after losing Robertson, Leon MacDonald and Jason Holland to the All Blacks respectively.
