Jamie Joseph could be just 24 hours away from getting some of the biggest news of his life.
New Zealand Rugby is expected to reveal the identity of the next All Blacks coach either tomorrow or Friday after a process that has drawn out since Scott Robertson was punted on January 16.
It is an entirely unkept secret that the two candidates for the biggest job in the country are Highlanders coach Joseph and former Chiefs and Wallabies coach Dave Rennie.
Both have been visited at their coaching headquarters — Joseph in Dunedin, Rennie at his Kobe Steelers club in Japan — by interim NZR chief executive Steve Lancaster and former All Blacks hooker Dane Coles.
The pair were set to have formal in-person interviews in Wellington this week with a panel comprising Lancaster, Coles, NZR chairman David Kirk, All Blacks centurion Keven Mealamu and high-performance expert Don Tricker.
While it is not clear exactly which day Joseph was being interviewed, it was interesting that his regular Tuesday media session at the Highlanders was pushed to tomorrow.
The interview panel will make a recommendation on the All Blacks coach appointment to the NZR board.
If it approves, the announcement will soon follow.
That assumes, of course, the national union and its choice of new coach can come to terms that quickly, and there might be two potential sticking points.
Getting a deal only to the end of the next Rugby World Cup — that would normally be the case — will leave the new coach with just 20 months of job security.
The Otago Daily Times understands Joseph has expressed a desire, if he gets promoted, to be contracted through to the 2031 World Cup.
There is also the question of what happens to incumbent All Blacks assistant coaches Jason Ryan, Tamati Ellison and Scott Hansen.
1News is reporting Joseph is more open to working with that trio — he had Hansen as an assistant for a spell in Japan — than Rennie, although it is close to certain former Highlanders running mate Tony Brown would join Joseph’s crew after his stint with the Springboks.
Rugby writer Patrick McKendry also speculated yesterday that Joseph would be "forced to immediately leave" the Highlanders if he got the nod.
Whatever happens, Joseph faces a challenge ahead of him.
He will either be digesting his disappointment at missing out to Rennie, or beginning the difficult task of getting the All Blacks back on track before a gruelling tour of South Africa.
• Long-serving All Blacks head of performance Nic Gill is leaving to assume a role with the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL.
Gill has led the All Blacks strength and conditioning programme since 2008 and been involved in over 240 tests.
He said it was a difficult decision to move on from a team and sport he was still passionate about, but the time was right for him and his family to move on a new challenge.
"Coincidentally, the All Blacks game against South Africa in Baltimore this year would have been my 250th All Blacks test.
"It is not easy to move on from something that has been such a huge part of my life, but new beginnings brings a time of reflection and I am so grateful for all the opportunities I have had and the great humans I’ve had the privilege to work alongside in the game we all love."
Gill will be vice-president of health and performance at the Ravens.
