Everyone wanted to talk to Isuzu Southern Kings coach Deon Davids this week after he was shortlisted for the Bulls Super Rugby coaching job.
But the affable Davids, normally keen to share his views on the game he cares so much for, was off-limits.
He had probably been told to keep well away from the media after the Bulls announced he was in the running to take charge of their Super Rugby team.
Within the next few weeks the Bulls will make a decision on whether Davids, Victor Matfield or Pote Human will be their main man next year.
Davids, who will still be in charge when the Kings face Connacht on Sunday, oversaw his team’s training at a windswept the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium B Field on Tuesday.
At times he cut a thoughtful figure as he stood out in the middle watching his charges being put through their paces at the training.
Initially Kings captain JC Astle was reluctant to talk about the frenzy surrounding Davids and the possibility of him making a fresh start in Pretoria.
Pressed for his views, Astle eventually summed up what Davids was probably thinking himself.
“Yes, it would be a blow if Deon goes because he is a good coach and he would like to see some success in this region,” Astle said.
“I think Deon has put so much sweat and time into this and maybe to leave now would not be good for the team as well.
“But obviously, if the time is right and everybody needs to move on, or [you] get a good opportunity somewhere, you will focus on that and do what you feel best.”
Kings fans will be hoping this latest development does not destabilise a team that have won only one of their opening eight matches.
As usual, the national rugby community is fiercely divided on which of the three candidates should get the job.
Many make Matfield the favourite because of the cult hero status he enjoys in the surrounds of Loftus Versfeld.
But the Bok legend does not have the coaching pedigree Davids owns after a total of 59 matches in charge of the Kings in Super Rugby and PRO14.
Davids, because of budget constraints, has been forced to work with players who had been overlooked or rejected by bigger unions.
Many of these players have gone on to become stars.
The first thing Makazole Mapimpi did when he heard he was in the Springbok team was to thank Davids.
Davids played a significant part in Mapimpi’s development after he arrived in Port Elizabeth from the Border Bulldogs.
It is just one of Davids’s many success stories.
This column does not have the space to trumpet all his achievements since he arrived at the Kings.
Another major triumph came in 2017 when he guided his young Kings team to a famous 31-30 Super Rugby win over the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
The Bulls officials who interviewed Davids will harbour particularly bad memories of that day.
Kings fans are now torn between wanting the best for their team and for Davids.