Canberra rugby prodigy Will Goddard has been approached by the Waikato Chiefs after the New Zealand giants waved goodbye to one of the game's best playmakers.
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The Super Rugby semi-finalists have shown interest in Goddard as they look to fill the void left by 50-time All Blacks representative Aaron Cruden at the end of the season.
The Chiefs are keen to take Goddard across the Tasman in a move that could take him from studying for his HSC tests at Canberra Grammar to the cauldron of Super Rugby at Waikato Stadium.
The ACT Brumbies are desperate to hold on to the promising flyhalf while Goddard has also fielded interest from Shute Shield powerhouse Sydney University.
New Zealand provincial sides Bay of Plenty and Waikato, who filter into the Chiefs' Super Rugby program, have expressed a strong desire to secure Goddard's signature.
Goddard got "a massive shock" when he was approached by Chiefs player identification and development manager Kent Currie after leading the ACT schoolboys to their first national rugby championship in 29 years.
The Canberra schoolboy was hoping to launch his Wallabies dream when he plays for the Australian Barbarians in a September series against New Zealand and Fiji's schoolboys sides.
But instead of dreaming of Wallaby gold he could be packing his bags within a month to take up a deal in New Zealand.
"Very, very surreal. To think this is the place the best players in the world are coming out of, to have the opportunity to go over there is unreal," Goddard said.
"I can't really explain it, it's that surreal. It would mean the world really. As a kid I've always hoped to one day be a Wallaby. As you get older you start to realise that opportunities come in small instances.
"If I ended up playing in New Zealand it wouldn't worry me, as long as I'm playing rugby, enjoying it and playing at the highest level possible, that's all that really matters to me.
"I would have thought that they would have had a big enough talent pool to pick from but I think there was a couple of things they liked about me.
The 18-year-old superboot admits he is leaning towards joining either Bay of Plenty or Waikato's development systems but still feels loyalty to the Brumbies for their investment in him.
Goddard says the opportunity wouldn't even be on the table is not for ACT schoolboys coach Dan Hawke and Brumbies academy mentor Russell Ingram.
Goddard talked with Currie about his plans for next year and admitted they will be orientated around rugby.
"He went away and asked a couple of the [provincial] teams, Bay of Plenty, Waikato - just under the Chiefs region," Goddard said.
