Mike's Minute: There's no way the NZRU rumour is real, right?

Is it a bombshell? 

A moment too weird to properly comprehend and, because of that, is that why it isn't real? And if it's not real then it's not worth speculating on. 

And yet here I am speculating. 

The NZ Rugby Union has approached Steve Hansen and Ian Foster and asked them to apply for the coach's job. 

Is that the most absurd, bizarre, nutty, unbelievable, possibly stupid thing you have ever heard around rugby, or perhaps even sport? 

And yet it's suggested it's true. 

In a way I hope it isn't, unless it is. But first I'll deal with the 'isn't'. 

I hope it isn't because the union already have enough reputational issues without adding to them, like the panel, the rules and the criteria. For goodness sake, just go get a rockstar. Surely the All Blacks coaching job still has enough prestige that getting great talent isn't an issue? 

That's if you haven't already targeted someone, which they should have! 

But then I hope it is true because I love Hansen and I love Foster and I'm an old romantic who fizzes over the edge of the glass in excitement at what would be/could be one of the great redemption stories in all of sport. 

Both have issues with rugby and rules and unions. Foster especially got treated abysmally. How good could it feel to march back into the dressing room and say "Hello lads. Now where were we before I was so rudely interrupted?" 

But for the union, this is why it can't be true. You don’t go to a Hansen or a Foster and say have an application form and see what you think. 

You beg for such talent to frequent your business! And if you're asking them to apply, what are you saying to Jamie Joseph and Co. who might be asking why they're looking for reheats when they're there. Not a bad point. 

See? It would be way better if none of this were true. 

Mind you it would be way better if they hadn't sacked Scott Robertson mid-term with a mass pay out and a restraint of trade with no clear plan going forward. 

This is almost so good it can't be real, while also being so bad it shouldn’t be real. 

The key of course is to win the world cup and if we do that no one will care who the coach is. 

But that bit seems a long way off when we currently have no coach and in front of us what could be a stroke of genius, or sheer insanity. 

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