KEY POINTS:
A grooming mechanism for future All Blacks, the national provincial rugby championship also provides the platform for a couple of former internationals to make their mark in a coaching capacity this season.
While the perpetual player drain ensures the cash-strapped competition is vital in terms of nurturing the
next generation - the same scenario also applies to coaching.
Warren Gatland's departure for Wales is an obvious example of a province needing to ensure their succession planning is in place. Tony Hanks, Gatland's understudy at Waikato for three seasons, makes the step up this season.
Four other provinces embark on the third Air NZ Cup with a new head coach - Wellington, Taranaki, Counties-Manukau and Tasman.
Jamie Joseph, Adrian Kennedy, Greg Aldous and Todd Blackadder face contrasting challenges.
For former Otago and All Blacks flanker Joseph, his Wellington brief is to take the two-time losing Air NZ Cup finalists a step further in the October 25 final.
Joseph succeeds Aussie McLean, who is concentrating on his assistant's role with the Hurricanes.
His progression marks another step in a developing coaching career which began at Japanese club side Sanix where he played for seven years before returning to New Zealand in 2003.
Since then, Joseph has been a part of the Wellington coaching setup.
"I think I'm ready now, so I'm looking forward to it," he said.
Kennedy, who takes on his first major role after building up his CV in South Africa and Europe, is unique in the fact he is the first "outsider" to coach Taranaki's top team in the union's 122-year history.
Former Cantabrian Kennedy replaces Kieran Crowley, whose regime ended after five years, and was mindful of his historic appointment.
"I'm really looking forward to it, I'll try to make it a seamless transition. I certainly know about the history of the province and the values."
Kennedy was most recently the forwards coach at English club Saracens and also formed a fruitful coaching relationship with South African Alan Solomons with the Stormers, Ulster and Northampton.
Blackadder, a legend in his playing days with Canterbury and the Crusaders, faces arguably the toughest assignment.
The former All Blacks captain contemplates his first head coaching role in New Zealand against a backdrop of uncertainty given the amalgamation of Marlborough and Nelson Bays is on the brink of collapse.
Tasman's predicament has also been complicated by Blackadder's' appointment as the successor to Robbie Deans as head coach of the Crusaders - meaning he will initially have to juggle two jobs.
Blackadder is at the helm for Tasman's opening Air NZ Cup match against Bay of Plenty tonight though it is not known how much of the season he will be able to devote to that campaign, given he also has to plan the 2009 Super 14 title defence in Christchurch with assistants Mark Hammett and Daryl Gibson.
It is expected Blackadder will guide Tasman for at least the first five rounds of the competition before assistant Bevan Cadwallader takes a more hands on role.
Blues-bound coach Pat Lam has a similar arrangement with Auckland before concentrating on the Super 14.
Blackadder, who ended his playing career in Scotland four years ago, was Tasman's director of rugby - a role he assumed after assisting then Scotland head coach Matt Williams.
Aldous, meanwhile, is hardly weighed down by expectations in South Auckland after the Steelers, then under Kevin Putt, failed to record a win last season.
"I have been balancing work and my passion for rugby for over a decade so it is fantastic to finally have the opportunity to combine the two," said Aldous, who coached at club level for 12 seasons before moving into rep level with the Auckland Colts and then Counties-Manukau's successful development team.
- NZPA