No sabbatical for Cane

No sabbatical, but no worries for Sam Cane.

The All Blacks openside flanker says there is nowhere he’d rather be, with yesterday’s announcement that he has re-signed with New Zealand Rugby, the Chiefs, and Bay of Plenty, until the end of the 2021 season.

And while the 25-year-old was able to quickly bat away any overseas offers that came his way because of his desires to achieve a heap more in the black jersey, it will literally be a case of staying put, with no sabbatical clause in his new deal.

Despite being part of the All Blacks’ leadership group, set to bring up his 50th test cap in Saturday night’s third Bledisloe Cup match against Australia in Brisbane, Cane hasn’t been afforded the same leave of absence which Ben Smith is currently undertaking, and which former stars Dan Carter, Richie McCaw and Conrad Smith also took nearing the end of their careers.

For the younger body of Cane, it’s just a case of powering on. But he noted that with the way teams operate now there was always due diligence taken in terms of not overloading, anyway.

‘‘Sabbaticals aren’t easy to come by,’’ he quipped.

‘‘Four years, playing a lot of rugby, is a long time. I think squads and coaches are a little bit better at managing players, and aware of it, these days. So hopefully that will get me through.’’