The vultures are circling but Peter Horne is hopeful that Rugby Australia can keep top players in the country should the Melbourne Rebels fold at the end of the season.
Horne, RA's head of high performance, spoke to reporters in Sydney after locking in Waratahs wonderkid Max Jorgensen for two more seasons.
But the fun never stops in professional sport and Horne has a big job in helping to convince Rebels players not to take their talents offshore.
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Star recruit Taniela Tupou is contracted until the end of 2025 but the cash strapped Rebels are not expected to be playing Super Rugby Pacific next season – and the prop has been linked with a move to Leinster.
"We want to keep all these players in the system," Horne said.
"It's important to us, regardless of what the outcome is, that they're a part of our broader ecosystem… don't get us wrong, we'll have contingency plans (should the Rebels fold), but the primary focus is obviously to get through the administration process as quickly as possible.
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"Joe (Schmidt) is in contact with the players on a regular basis… we don't want to lose anyone. We want to keep them in our system… and we need as many of our best players to stay, regardless of what the outcome is… 100 per cent we would like to see Taniela stay."
Horne also sat alongside Waratahs coach Darren Coleman at the Jorgensen press conference.
Coleman is off contract at the end of the season and NSW are sitting 10th with a 1-4 record ahead of Friday's crucial clash with the Rebels.
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RA now control the overall Waratahs operation and Horne will take a key role in reviewing Coleman's performance and determining the coach for 2025 and beyond.
"This is business as usual, right? You run a review of your program, of the coach, and there wouldn't be any difference from any other high performance organisation globally," Horne said.
Coleman stopped short of calling the Rebels clash must win.
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"It's not must win on the ladder as far as making the eight. We were in the exact same position last year and we got a run of four wins in a row.
"So we're not feeling the stress of that aspect."
Coleman said the retention of Jorgensen gave the squad a boost.
"Maxy broke the internet last night when it was all announced," he quipped.
"So everyone's just stoked he's going to be around… he's just exceeded our expectations at every step.. one of the things that's made him so appealing to the Wallabies and to us is that he's unflappable. He makes mistakes like anyone else but he just gets back on with the job.
"He's overcome adversity with injury, he's stayed on point. Not everything's been easy for him. We're pumped to have him."
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