Sir Gordon Tietjens, newly appointed Samoa sevens coach, will miss the first two world circuit tournaments in Dubai and South Africa - because he is still on 'gardening leave' from New Zealand Rugby.
Contacted to see how Samoa's preparation for the 2016-17 HSBC world rugby sevens series was progressing, Tietjens initally offered no comment apart from saying he could not attend the first two events in Dubai (December 2 and 3) and Cape Town (a week later). The series then takes a break before resuming in Wellington at the end of January.
Asked why, Tietjens eventually said: "I am still on contract to New Zealand Rugby and it runs through December, up to January. I guess you could say I am on gardening leave. I got a letter telling me about my contractural obligations."
So, in spite of all the reports saying first Tietjens had retired and then marking his appointment as Samoa coach, it seems his 22-year stint with New Zealand Rugby is not yet over.
"I did find it a bit hurtful, to be told I couldn't go to Samoa to coach and that I would effectively miss the first two tournaments - I thought maybe 22 years would count for something. There's an assistant coach in Samoa who will look after things until I can get there.
"I did offer to help with the New Zealand side some time ago - they still don't have a New Zealand coach appointed yet - but that doesn't seem to have come to anything; Dubai is only a few weeks away now."
New Zealand Rugby High Performance Manager Don Tricker said: "We've reached a confidential agreement with Sir Gordon so it's not really appropriate for us to comment further."
The preferred replacement is understood to be Scotland's Clark Laidlaw - but a contractural problem could be delaying matters there as well. Laidlaw, 38, is said to be highly regarded after a stint as Hurricanes assistant from 2014-15 and as skills coach for Tietjens' sevens team. However, Laidlaw is just months into the second season of a three-year deal with the London Irish club and would need to be released from that deal to take over.