KEY POINTS:
A group of senior All Blacks are slowly edging towards extending their contracts through to the next World Cup.
As the Herald on Sunday revealed in June, a core of leading players, including Ali Williams, Rodney So'oialo, Tony Woodcock and Mils Muliaina, are key retention targets for the New Zealand Rugby Union.
Those players are all off contract in 2009 and the NZRU is trying to persuade them to extend early and is prepared to throw in sabbatical periods and rest options to persuade them to commit.
Negotiations are progressing, with NZRU chief executive Steve Tew still hopeful that many will put pen to paper.
"I am never one to tempt fate or to put pressure on players," said Tew.
"But I am hopeful. We have targeted a core group of senior players that we want to retain and we are still talking to them. We are prepared to be creative to get players but we have to be careful that we don't have a mish-mash of commitments."
It is understood that some of the players being targeted have been swayed by the decisions of Richie McCaw and Dan Carter to commit through to 2011.
Having those two in it for the long haul has made it easier for other senior players to think about making the same call. It is also believed that Carter and McCaw have talked to some of their team-mates about staying on.
"I don't think they have needed to do any talking," said Tew. "They have done their talking through their actions and they have made decisions that are nearly as significant as the ones Josh [Kronfeld] and Jeff [Wilson] made in 1995.
"Daniel and Richie are two of the most skilled players in the world, experienced and leaders in their own right and have made major decisions in committing to New Zealand until 2011."
Top of the priority list for the NZRU is Williams, who has matured into one of the world's best locks, as well as having assumed a leadership role within the All Blacks.
Publicly Williams has been cagey about his future. Locks of his quality are in short supply around the world and it is highly likely that if he is to extend his contract, he will look to follow Carter by having a playing sojourn in Europe.
He has been involved in six Super rugby campaigns, two World Cups and has amassed 50 caps since the end of 2002, making him a prime candidate for a sabbatical so he can experience something different.
Stade Francais and Toulouse are both in the market for a lock and could be prepared to take Williams on a short-term deal.
Woodcock would probably be the other man the NZRU are most keen to retain, as he has quietly developed into a destructive loosehead who is feared around the world.
Like Williams, he has crammed a lot of rugby into the past six years and would also be able to command enormous money in Europe, even on a six-month deal.
With the players not coming off contract until 2009, there is no time pressure to force anyone into signing something in the immediate future.
The NZRU, however, would be keen to see some players take the plunge, as that would in turn encourage not only the others they are targeting but also the likes of Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith, who are off contract at the end of this year.
