Steve Hansen's coaching staff will be announced today, with most of the mystery surrounding the appointment of an "external'' selector.
Speculation has ramped up as to who that could be, but it seems certain that former first five-eighths Grant Fox will be handed the role.
This week Fox left his position as part of the Sky commentary team.
He would be an obvious choice is many ways, but also an intriguing one. Fox, 49, has a vast library of rugby knowledge and an unbridled love for the game. In terms of technical expertise, he would not have to convince anybody.
However, his umbilical connection to Auckland and Blues rugby - he is an independent director on the board of the latter - could leave him open to suggestions of partiality.
Speculation had been rife as to who the outside man could be since Hansen announced last weekend that the third selector would not be part of the coaching staff. Could Graham Henry be convinced to stay on in that role? Would Hansen go left-field and turn to an old confidante from Wales like Scott Johnson?
Recent players with savvy warranted a mention, such as Tana Umaga and Justin Marshall. With confirmation yesterday that Umaga will fill the void left at Counties Manukau by the departing Milton Haig, who is taking over the Georgian national team, his name was effectively rubbed out of the conversation.
Hansen will likely name Ian Foster as his assistant today, with Brian McLean and Mick Byrne as specialists. Those names have been floating around for some time, but the longer it has taken to confirm them the more chance there seemed to be that Hansen had pulled a surprise.
There's no surprises in store concerning Umaga's destination next year.
Umaga's stocks are again on the rise in coaching circles and yesterday he expressed his excitement about taking on the head coach role at Counties after two seasons as player-assistant coach.
"My family and I really enjoy living here and I have become very attached to the area and to the players,'' he said in a statement. "There is a great talent pool here and the region is renowned for growing players, which we will continue to do and focus on retaining the players within the region.''
Umaga said the environment created at Counties over the past few years meant they were becoming an attractive destination for players from outside the region, which was a nice change from the union being seen as a virtual feeder province for more cash-rich teams.
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