It would be premature to say Brad Shields is bound for England.
An English newspaper report suggests the Hurricanes loose forward might choose to throw his lot in with England as soon as November. Shields, 26, is eager to play international rugby and holds a British passport through his parents, who recently relocated to England.
Two wider All Blacks training squads is as close as he got to the top level and The Mail on Sunday speculates Shields might immediately sign with an English premiership club, should he miss selection for New Zealand's end-of-year tour. However, Shields recently told Stuff that he was contracted to the Hurricanes for 2018 and would honour that.
"Everyone knows my situation, so we'll see what happens after that," Shields said.
The Hurricanes have a huge opinion of Shields, who plays plays blindside flanker and No.8, and regard him as an international-calibre player. He is a member of the Super Rugby franchise's senior leadership group and captained the team against the Brumbies and British and Irish Lions this year. It's understood that they have been surprised by his lack of national recognition.
Given Shields has options beyond New Zealand, the Hurricanes accept he might not stick around forever. He's been told he's vital to the team's 2018 campaign, with everyone to reassess things after that.
Hurricanes head coach Chris Boyd is due to step aside at that point and allow assistant John Plumtree to assume the top job.
Beyond Kieran Read and Jerome Kaino, who've been the All Blacks' first choices at No.8 and blindside flanker in recent years, others such as Liam Messam, Victor Vito, Elliot Dixon, Luke Whitelock, Liam Squire, Steven Luatua, Vaea Fifita and Akira Ioane have found themselves above Shields in the national pecking order and it would only be natural if he considered a different career path at some point.
His former Tui Glen School classmate, and Wellington and Hurricanes team-mate, Jason Woodward also holds a British passport and signed with English club Bristol last year. By the end of the premiership season, England coach Eddie Jones had called the outside back into a national training camp.
Woodward has since signed with Gloucester.
Should Shields seek to take a similar route to international rugby, The Mail on Sunday indicated he could command a salary in excesss of $600,000 a season from a premiership club.
Shields is currently in his fourth season as captain of Wellington, in the national provincial championship, having previously been a member of the New Zealand side that won the 2011 under-20 world cup.
Photo by: HAGEN HOPKINS/GETTY IMAGES. Caption: Brad Shields carts the ball up during the Hurricanes' draw with the British and Irish Lions