The saga around Sir John Kirwan's coaching future at the Blues continues to drag on, with the franchise reiterating a decision will be made by August.
Sir John seemingly wants Crusaders assistant coach Tabai Matson to join him next season, amidst reports Matson met with Blues management earlier this week.
Kirwan was evasive at a media session in Auckland refusing to talk about his or Matson's future at the franchise, preferring to concentrate on the Blues match against the South African side the Bulls.
The coach refused to say whether he had approached other coaches to be his assistant next year.
Sir John Kirwan talks about his life and influences, including Te Whiti-o-Rongomai, and John Hart. 11:05am Photo: Photosport
"I'm not going to confirm or deny anything. I believe my job is to be here to talk about the Bulls. I've presented to the (Blues) board and they're going through a process and I just don't think it's professional to be talking about things that shouldn't be spoken about in the media," he said.
"When the decision is made by the board I'll talk about it when it arises."
Kirwan denies the issue is a distraction.
"It's part of the job. I've been in this situation before."