Southland rugby boss Roger Clark says it is not in the team's best financial interests to have its captain, Jamie Mackintosh, sign for another Super 14 franchise then loaned back to Southland.
Clark also said he did not believe team halfback and Highlanders captain Jimmy Cowan was going anywhere. Cowan has been linked with the Blues.
Highlanders and Southland prop Mackintosh is believed to be in negotiations to sign for the Hurricanes but no-one was prepared to confirm the move yesterday.
Neither Mackintosh nor his agent returned calls, and Hurricanes chief executive Greg Peters declined to comment.
It is thought any deal would involve Mackintosh signing for the Hurricanes then being loaned back to Southland for the domestic provincial competition.
Clark confirmed Mackintosh would be off contract at the end of the season, and the deadline for transferring to another Super 14 franchise was the middle of next month.
Clark said there would be few positives for Southland in such a deal.
"There would not be any financial benefit for us at all. First and foremost, we want someone like Jamie to be playing for Southland," he said.
"And with that we want him to be playing for the Highlanders."
Clark said he was "pretty confident" of re-signing Mackintosh.
He said the Highlanders had taken advantage of loan deals, but if Mackintosh deal went through, the franchise would be on the wrong end of it.
Clark said the Southland union had a great relationship with the Highlanders.
Cowan had a contract with Southland and the New Zealand Rugby Union until the end of next year, and Clark said the only talk of Cowan moving to the Blues was coming out of Auckland.
New Zealand Rugby Players Association executive director Rob Nichol said the loan-back scheme was becoming more popular, especially with the Highlanders.
He said it was a misconception that players picked and chose teams, and most were very loyal.
He was unaware of the Mackintosh situation but felt some players might want a change, for various reasons.
Franchises could protect 24 players from their region. Those that did not make that protected squad went into the draft and had to move to whichever franchise drafted them.
