NSW captain Dave Dennis has defended delaying a decision about his future, saying he is conscious of the impact it is having on the Waratahs but that it is time for him to be "a little more selfish" about his career.
The Waratahs literally flew into a squall in Wellington in the lead-up to a potentially season-defining clash with unbeaten competition leaders the Hurricanes.
Forced to abort a first landing attempt due to a wind shear warning, the team were buffeted in the skies above the picturesque city in what could well have been an omen before a rain-soaked clash at Wellington's famous Cake Tin on Saturday.
Earlier in the day in Sydney, NSW coach Michael Cheika admitted he would have liked to have his captain and remaining big names locked in a "little bit quicker" for the sake of the rest of this season, as well as next year's campaign under Daryl Gibson.
Dennis said he was well aware of the impact of his deliberations, but defended his right to do what was best for him after nine seasons with the club.
"That's a massive part of my thinking and that's what makes it a little bit harder," he said.
"I've always considered the club in the past but now I'm getting to the stage in my career where I need to be a little more selfish. I know that doesn't sound good but that's just how it goes.
"In that regard it's a bit hard but I really feel like I want to be here in that transition, to help be that constant. We're going to have a high player turnover, that's just going to happen with how the contracts are structured.
"So I feel as though I want to be a part of that constant and hopefully contribute to other guys staying around – big parts of the club like Kurtley [Beale] and Israel [Folau] and guys like that. I'm definitely conscious of that fact."
Five-eighth Bernard Foley this week signed on to three more seasons at Moore Park, leaving Dennis, Folau and Beale as the remaining big three pieces of the puzzle the Waratahs need to lock in.
The players themselves are not solely to blame. Uncertainty over the future management structure of the Super Rugby franchise late last year flowed on to affect the recruitment of a new chief executive and coach.
With both of those locked in and Foley's future secure, Cheika said he was reasonably happy with the progress.
"You'd be lying if you said you wouldn't want it to be done a little bit quicker, but all in all it's starting to take the shape that we want it to take and hopefully over the next few weeks it's going to take a bit more shape," he said.
"It will get us set up for what we want to achieve for the rest of this year and into next year as well."
