Joseph largely played a straight bat last night as he spoke publicly for the first time about rampant speculation he already had one hand on New Zealand sport’s most coveted job title.
The Highlanders coach is widely considered the No1 contender to replace Robertson, who was last week jettisoned two years into his four-year contract.
Joseph has been relatively open about his desire to eventually coach the All Blacks, returning to the international arena after eight years with Japan, but said it was too soon to confirm he was putting his hand up.
"I think the role has only just become available," he told 1News last night.
"Certainly a massive surprise for me.
"I just need time to digest and I haven’t had a lot of time."
Joseph missed out to Robertson three years ago when NZR sought to make an early appointment near the end of Ian Foster’s tumultuous reign as All Blacks coach.
The rumour mill kicked into overdrive last week when it emerged Highlanders players were not technically in camp, leading some to speculate it was because Joseph has been summonsed to NZR headquarters.
The Highlanders have said the unusual arrangement was to avoid player burnout — the Highlanders are about to embark on a long stretch of games as they have a late Super Rugby bye — and Joseph said he was not talking to NZR bigwigs.
"No, I’m not. No.
"Last week was a remote week where we let the guys go, but we had a few guys who had promotions in Auckland etc.
"We gave them a bit of a breather because we’ve got this stint where we’ve got 11 games on the trot."
It is an open secret that Joseph will want former longtime assistant Tony Brown with him if he gets the All Blacks job.
That could be tricky as Brown is contracted to the Springboks until after the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
"I’ve spoken to Tony, but I speak to Tony most weeks ... mainly about golf," he said.
