Former All Blacks coach Ian Foster has admitted he's not sure where NZ Kiwis star Joseph Manu will play when he transitions from rugby league to rugby later this year following his signing with Japan League One club Toyota Verblitz.
Hours after it was confirmed Foster would be linking with former All Blacks coach Sir Steve Hansen in Japan it was also revealed the club had signed one of New Zealand sport's biggest names in Manu.
It will be Foster's first role after he guided the All Blacks to the Rugby World Cup final and a one-point defeat to South Africa in Paris last year. For Manu it confirms his exit from the Sydney Roosters at the end of the NRL season after he previously signaled his interest in a code switch.
Where he plays though, Foster admits, he's not certain, telling SEN radio it could take some time for Manu to find his position in the backline.
"I don't know," Foster said. "I've been through this with Roger Tuivasa-Sheck the last few years in the All Blacks.
"You've got a real quality athlete, but ...we'll have conversations with him through the pre-season. At this stage, he's really a wing/fullback.
"In rugby, I'd love to see him at centre down the track, with his build, and the way he loves to get his hands on the ball and run at people. Sometimes, with No.15 in rugby, you really have to get involved in a lot more kicking and first-receiver type plays than what he's used to.
"We've got to take it a step at a time, but the reality is he's a great athlete and you see what he does for the Roosters. We're looking forward to trying to tap into that and utilize him where he fits, certainly outside backs at the stage."
Manu's not the first to make the leap between codes with Tuivasa-Scheck making the switch from fullback in league to centres in rugby but was never quite able to nail down his role, finding himself in and out of the All Blacks squad, before he made his return to league playing for the NZ Warriors this season.
While Sonny Bill Williams became one of the most successful transition players after he moved from the second row in the NRL to play centre for the All Blacks where he won two Rugby World Cups.
"I've been through it with Benji Marshall when he came over here, watched him transition through the Blues. I've seen it with Roger Tuivasa-Scheck who I couldn't speak more highly of a person than Roger, I just know how hard it is to change and it ain't easy.
"It's not just about the game, it's about all the factors off the park and in some ways I really like what Joey's done, because it's taken him out of the limelight a little bit.
"Once he finishes this year he'll go to Japan and the limelight will be on him over there, but he'll be out of the Australian market, out of the New Zealand market, and give him chance to breath and learn at the pace that he can learn at. Hopefully we can deliver a player that can play on the big stage one day."
Meanwhile, two-time World Cup winning coach Hansen, who is the Director of Rugby at the Japanese club said he "couldn't say yes quick enough" when he heard Manu was interested in jumping codes.
"It's no different to what we did with Sonny. Joey and Sonny are excellent athletes, and there's no reason he can't be a similar success," Hansen told The Sydney Morning Herald.
"The best thing about Joey is he's doing this for the right reasons. He wants to come to us to learn how to play the game.
"He's so talented, there are no two ways about it. He seems to make the right decisions at the right time. He has a very good work ethic, and in all my dealings with him so far, he's also a good character.
"We want him to achieve his goals, and along the way, he'll help us achieve ours."
Due to New Zealand Rugby eligibility laws which require players to be contracted to NZR domestically, Manu can't expect to walk onto the All Blacks squad yet, but with new All Blacks coach Scott Robertson urging NZR to modify their rules to allow offshore players to be selected, the 27-year-old could pull on the black jersey sooner than first thought.
"[Hansen] has been really impressed with Joey's attitude and how he wants to learn, and particularly his athleticism and his age," Foster said. "He's got plenty of time to go back and learn, but it takes a bit of courage to change, when you're a star in a sport.
"Sometimes the courage to do it speaks volumes for how that player will behave, when he gets his chance. We're banking on the athleticism and the man himself. He's been a massively quality league player, and we look at his role at [fullback] in league and we can play around with that pretty easily, we think."