Crusaders coach Scott Robertson said any role he had with the British and Irish Lions on their tour of South Africa next year would not have to be in a formal assistant coaching position.
Robertson said last month that he had approached Lions coach Warren Gatland, a fellow New Zealander, about a spot on the tour to gain some international experience.
The request was not welcomed in some quarters and Ian McGeechan, who coached the Lions on four tours, wrote that Gatland needed assistants better acquainted with the northern hemisphere game and players.
Robertson told New Zealand media he was still waiting to hear back from Lions organisers and was willing to help out where he could.
"It was a chance for me to grow as a person and teach with people with different mindsets and skill sets and be in such a special group. Nothing has changed from that," he told stuff.co.nz.
"I am happy to help Andy Farrell out with the defence, to have more of a specialised role to allow him to get the best out of the group.
"You need a hand. You've got test matches, and midweek games. Coaching staffs are big, they've got a lot of players."
Robertson, as McGeechan said in his newspaper column, is considered one of the best coaches in the world after leading the Crusaders to four straight Super Rugby titles.
He missed out on the New Zealand job to Ian Foster last year and his Crusaders contract expires at the end of next year.
"I've got the energy and passion, probably, to go a lot longer, but I'm also mindful of the timing with opportunities elsewhere," he added.
"All Blacks jobs, international roles, so my eyes are wide open. I'm a Crusader, my loyalty is here. But there is going to be a point in time when I have to make a decision that is right for my coaching career."
Meanwhile, World Rugby said on Tuesday it would allocate $2.5 million among rugby sevens nations that have qualified for the Tokyo Olympics to cope with further disruptions to the global sevens calendar due to the novel coronavirus.
The governing body said it had called off the Sydney and Hamilton rounds of the World Sevens Series scheduled for January "due to the ongoing and dynamic global nature of the Covid-19 pandemic".
Organisers now hope to kick off the series in Hong Kong and Singapore in April.
With the global championship a key plank in Olympic preparations, World Rugby said it would make "a dedicated initial investment of $2.5 million" to support qualified nations.
"Each union that has qualified ... will be able to apply to World Rugby for funding which can be directed towards rugby sevens squad training camps, competition support, technical and sports science and medical programmes," it said in a statement.
World Rugby was forced to scrap the last rounds of the 2019/20 series due to the coronavirus and make New Zealand winners of both the men's and women's championships.
The Dubai and Cape Town rounds of the 2020/21 series, provisionally scheduled for November and December, were called off last month.
Rugby Australia (RA) interim Chief Executive Rob Clarke said in a statement it was "incredibly disappointing" that Sydney would not go ahead but looked forward to the tournament returning to the city in 2022.
RA said it could apply for $200,000 from World Rugby's grant, or $100,000 each for its qualified men's and women's teams.
World Rugby said it was working to confirm dates for the Olympic repechage event in the first half of 2021, where the final two women's nations and one men's nation to qualify for Tokyo will be decided.
- Reuters
Robertson still keen to lend Lions a hand where he can on SA tour
Image: PHIL WALTER/GETTY IMAGES
Crusaders coach Scott Robertson said any role he had with the British and Irish Lions on their tour of South Africa next year would not have to be in a formal assistant coaching position.
Robertson said last month that he had approached Lions coach Warren Gatland, a fellow New Zealander, about a spot on the tour to gain some international experience.
The request was not welcomed in some quarters and Ian McGeechan, who coached the Lions on four tours, wrote that Gatland needed assistants better acquainted with the northern hemisphere game and players.
Robertson told New Zealand media he was still waiting to hear back from Lions organisers and was willing to help out where he could.
"It was a chance for me to grow as a person and teach with people with different mindsets and skill sets and be in such a special group. Nothing has changed from that," he told stuff.co.nz.
"I am happy to help Andy Farrell out with the defence, to have more of a specialised role to allow him to get the best out of the group.
"You need a hand. You've got test matches, and midweek games. Coaching staffs are big, they've got a lot of players."
Robertson, as McGeechan said in his newspaper column, is considered one of the best coaches in the world after leading the Crusaders to four straight Super Rugby titles.
He missed out on the New Zealand job to Ian Foster last year and his Crusaders contract expires at the end of next year.
"I've got the energy and passion, probably, to go a lot longer, but I'm also mindful of the timing with opportunities elsewhere," he added.
"All Blacks jobs, international roles, so my eyes are wide open. I'm a Crusader, my loyalty is here. But there is going to be a point in time when I have to make a decision that is right for my coaching career."
Meanwhile, World Rugby said on Tuesday it would allocate $2.5 million among rugby sevens nations that have qualified for the Tokyo Olympics to cope with further disruptions to the global sevens calendar due to the novel coronavirus.
The governing body said it had called off the Sydney and Hamilton rounds of the World Sevens Series scheduled for January "due to the ongoing and dynamic global nature of the Covid-19 pandemic".
Organisers now hope to kick off the series in Hong Kong and Singapore in April.
With the global championship a key plank in Olympic preparations, World Rugby said it would make "a dedicated initial investment of $2.5 million" to support qualified nations.
"Each union that has qualified ... will be able to apply to World Rugby for funding which can be directed towards rugby sevens squad training camps, competition support, technical and sports science and medical programmes," it said in a statement.
World Rugby was forced to scrap the last rounds of the 2019/20 series due to the coronavirus and make New Zealand winners of both the men's and women's championships.
The Dubai and Cape Town rounds of the 2020/21 series, provisionally scheduled for November and December, were called off last month.
Rugby Australia (RA) interim Chief Executive Rob Clarke said in a statement it was "incredibly disappointing" that Sydney would not go ahead but looked forward to the tournament returning to the city in 2022.
RA said it could apply for $200,000 from World Rugby's grant, or $100,000 each for its qualified men's and women's teams.
World Rugby said it was working to confirm dates for the Olympic repechage event in the first half of 2021, where the final two women's nations and one men's nation to qualify for Tokyo will be decided.
- Reuters
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