New Zealand made their feelings very clear when England demanded Brad Shields be allowed to join up with Eddie Jones' squad for the summer tour to South Africa. They were not happy.

Not just due to the fact that the Hurricanes will be losing their captain for a period of time he would otherwise be resting - Super Rugby shuts down during the international period - but because one of the country's form back-row forwards is turning his back on the country of his birth to represent the land of his parents.

Playing for Wasps - the club Shields will represent next season - is one thing, playing for England is something else altogether. Ultimately, the RFU got its way, citing World Rugby rules, and the NZRU was obliged to make Shields available to England. But it rankled.

Now All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen has stirred the pot by claiming Shields would "probably" have been included in the All Blacks squad this year, if he had shown more patience and stayed put.

Hansen has named a new-look set of loose forwards to face France next month, with potential Test debutants Jordan Taufua and Shannon Frizell earning call-ups. Hansen, slightly mischievously, has now suggested Shields could have been one of them.