Two recent announcements have given some clarity to the ground rules when rugby players and coaches seek greener pastures, global opportunities and a chance to increase both talents and bank balances.
The wait to hear of the fate of another coach has also raised concerns with regards to how coaches in New Zealand are treated and developed.
Ultimately, the NZRU should not only protect the pathway to the All Blacks, but also into high-performance coaching roles.
Manawatu coach Jason O'Halloran has announced he'll be heading to Scotland at the end of the year, and Charles Piutau has been denied the opportunity to play for the Blues next year because his contract with Ulster rules him out of the business end of the Super rugby season.
Both O'Halloran and Piutau are assets to New Zealand rugby.
O'Halloran returned from a Japan coaching role to help Dave Rennie with Manawatu and waited eight years for the green and whites to deliver on their potential (which they finally did in 2014).
He has also played a key role at the national level with the New Zealand under-20 team.
With all that experience, does he really need to go overseas to develop his trade?
O'Halloran believes so, and perhaps that is clever of him, especially if he takes a quick glance up the road and sees what trouble Sir John Kirwan is in at the Super rugby level.
Kirwan probably thought he had done his coaching apprenticeship when he coached Italy and Japan.
He decided to come home to try his luck with one of the most difficult teams in Super rugby.
Unfortunately, Kirwan's ex-All Black status, overseas experience, affable nature and high profile hasn't helped him or the Blues win, and now his coaching reputation is in danger of being damaged beyond repair.
As his advertisements for mental health will demonstrate, Kirwan is a fighter and so it is no surprise he is scrambling around trying to make deals with other coaches and with the Blues board to save his career.
The NZRU must be concerned that promising coaches at the provincial level, such as O'Halloran, are choosing to go overseas before taking on Super rugby roles, when there seems to be a dearth of ideal candidates to take over from Kirwan.
What can help bridge the gap between provincial coaching and Super rugby coaching? Maybe it is a sabbatical, or one-off opportunities to coach the under-20s or the Maori All Blacks.
Some go overseas, some try coaching age-grade and women's teams, others test their skills in the sevens game - but nothing seems to prepare coaches for the harsh reality of Super rugby.
From the player perspective, a message has been sent that if anyone wants to play for one of the New Zealand franchises and then for the All Blacks, they had better be committed and loyal to Aotearoa for a few more years.
Piutau tested the boundaries (as all youngsters do) when he announced in April that he'd be joining Irish club Ulster.
His agent may not have expected the NZRU to play hardball with a player like Piutau, whose All Black debut in 2013 was part of a giddy rise up the rugby ranks through the Tongan (2010) and New Zealand (2011) under-20 teams, the New Zealand sevens team (2011-12), Auckland (2010) and the Blues (2012-2015).
Everything he'd wanted up until now he was given, so it must have been a shock for him to finally be denied an opportunity.
Is the NZRU unfairly restricting his ability to earn from his trade?
Piutau shouldn't worry too much because he'll be snapped up by some international clubs in Europe or Japan, no doubt. What the national union is doing is protecting its greatest asset and drawcard, the All Blacks.
A strong message has been sent to both coaches and players.
As a coach, it is accepted that you may have to go overseas to gain experience and tools that can be brought back to New Zealand at some stage.
And as a player, you must stay here for a little longer before you decide to fly the coop.
