Schmidt latest coach to rule himself out

Two of the high profile-candidates for the Highlanders head coaching position in 2018 have been taken out of consideration.

Who gets the job now appears to be up in the air and the Highlanders are in no rush to make a decision.

One man who had been tipped for the job, Joe Schmidt, took himself out of the equation yesterday when it was announced he had signed a deal to continue to coach the Irish national side through to the next World Cup in 2019.

It had been reported Schmidt had been in talks with both the Chiefs and the Highlanders about coaching a Super rugby franchise in 2018.

However, he has turned his back on that with his decision to stay with Ireland.

Schmidt would have had designs on coaching the All Blacks and knows he would have had to be back in New Zealand by 2018 to get that job.

But there was no guarantee he would get that position as there are plenty of other candidates in contention, including All Black assistant coach Ian Foster.

Another Highlanders coaching candidate, Vern Cotter, took himself out of the running when the Scotland coach signed to take over French club Montpellier next year.

Cotter will finish with the Scottish national team at the end of the northern hemisphere season. The former Clermont coach had been discussed as a coach for a Super rugby side but nothing was signed and his move to France was announced last month.

Both the Chiefs and the Highlanders will need new coaches for the 2018 season. Dave Rennie is moving on after next year - heading to Edinburgh - while Tony Brown will have one year in charge of the Highlanders before going to Japan to be the assistant coach for the Japanese national team.

Highlanders general manager Roger Clark said last month the new coach for the 2018 season was not a priority at the stage. It was discussed in board meetings but that was as far as it went as the focus was on the 2017 season.

Assistant coaches Scott McLeod and Mark Hammett could be contenders but that may depend on how well the team does next year and whether either of them wants the top job.

Other candidates could be Hawke's Bay coach Craig Philpott and former Chiefs assistant coach Tom Coventry.

Meanwhile, the Highlanders are believed to have signed Canterbury prop Siate Tokolahi for next season.

Tokolahi, a tighthead prop, has spent the past two seasons with the Chiefs but will move south to get more game time. He will in effect be a straight swap for Josh Hohneck who is joining Gloucester in England.