A lot of things seem to have been said recently one way and another about my interest in the England job, so let me just clear a few things up. On request from the RFU, I did submit a brief cv through my agent. But I am not interested in the England ‘head coaching’ role.

I do not want to be reporting to the board and to PR staff and spending time on strategic planning and office administration. I love getting on the pitch and coaching players. The timescale also precludes me from the job because I have an ethical obligation to the Chiefs until September when there will be an annual review of my position.

The NZRU was also anxious that a decent time period elapse before I considered another national coaching job because of the intellectual property invested with the All Blacks. I consider 12 months to be a decent time period. So if in September an onfield head coaching position with an international team became available, then I would be interested. And if the opportunity arose to work with a manager and coach like Nick Mallett, for whom I have great respect, then I am also open minded to that possibility.

But I am thoroughly engaged in my current role with the Chiefs and looking forward to the start of the Super 15.