Andrew Hore will be back in the No.2 jersey this week and restored as captain for the match against the Lions in Wellington but his long-term future at the Hurricanes remains uncertain.
Neither Hore nor coach Mark Hammett would confirm if the All Blacks hooker would be back in Wellington next year as the pair also scotched more rumours of a rift between the coach and the senior Hurricanes players.
"Andrew and I have said we're going to wait until the end of the campaign and see how he gets through," said Hammett. "Our big thing with Horey is making sure he's in the best nick for the World Cup."
Hore, who has young hooker Dane Coles breathing down his neck at the Hurricanes, was equally as enigmatic, although he stressed his preferred option would be to stay in New Zealand despite Agen and Toulouse showing interest in signing him.
"It's always good to be a 25-year-old and it's going pretty well and everyone wants a piece of you, that's just the way rugby is," said Hore, 32.
"It's a professional game and you just can't expect to be around forever. It's like anything, sometimes the old guys have to step aside. It's hard to say but these young fellas like Dane Coles have been playing some good rugby and is it a good step to get him playing or to keep me here and have no-one in a couple of years?"
"Mark has got to get a team that can win every game but you've got to look at the future as well."
The Highlanders have been touted as another possible option for Hore while his future with Taranaki also seems to be up in the air.
But the hooker said his focus for now was on finishing this Super Rugby campaign strongly and booking his spot in the All Blacks' World Cup squad.
"That's the big thing. That's what the next three weeks are all about for me. I've got a Maniototo side down home that's pretty keen on me playing. It wouldn't be too bad to get away and play with a few mates down in Central so all is not lost."
While he would like to continue playing next year, he admitted he was in a better position than some players when it came to life post-rugby.
"The other good thing for me is that I'm pretty well set up. If all goes well, winning the World Cup would be pretty special then I've got a farm and it wouldn't be the end of the world to go back there, rest up and get a real job and do some farm work."
The gnarly hooker said rumours that he and Hammett had had a fight in Invercargill after the Highlanders game were laughable.
"That's reasonably entertaining. I think I might have had a crack at him in 2002 when we were playing against each other but other than that we're still getting on pretty good," he said.
But both admitted the persistent claims of unrest and unhappiness within the Hurricanes were frustrating, although inevitable given the disappointing season the franchise has had.
"We're still trying pretty hard. Obviously if you look at the pride we showed in the line against the Force to 'D' (defence) up like that for the last couple of minutes. In my opinion if a team had