• Move designed to help those with problems, not to sanction them • All Blacks coach Steve Hansen says England can break unbeaten record

New Zealand Rugby will introduce random out-of-competition testing for recreational drugs from next season, not only for players but for coaches and administrators too.

The testing regime was agreed on Wednesday as part of a collective agreement between NZR and the New Zealand Rugby Players Association. Players have previously been tested only on game days but the agreement will mean all players and others involved in New Zealand’s top competitions being subject to random testing.

Battle for the soul of New Zealand rugby after its year of off-field shame | Eleanor Ainge Roy Read more

The NZRPA chief executive, Rob Nichol, said no sanctions had been agreed, even for repeat offenders, because the purpose was to provide support and treatment. “It’s not about catching and sanctioning,” Nichol said. “If someone is struggling in this particular area, either through a positive test or putting their hand up or other information that brings a problem to light, then it’s about support and rehabilitation.

“And provided individuals who are in that situation embrace that opportunity to get things sorted, they’ll be given a lot of support to sort it out.”

The All Blacks coach, Steve Hansen, believes England can successfully defend their Six Nations title and break New Zealand’s top-tier record 18-match winning streak.

England have extended their run of consecutive victories to 14, four shy of the record the All Blacks set before a defeat to Ireland in Chicago last month.

“They’ve got games against Italy and you’d expect them to beat Italy and I’d expect them to beat Scotland so they’ve then got the Irish game, the French game and the Welsh game,” Hansen said. “They’ll be toughies but we know they’re capable of beating them. They went through last year undefeated so it’s there for them to have a crack at.”

England begin the defence of the Six Nations title against France at Twickenham on 4 February, before playing Wales (11 February), Italy (26 February), Scotland (11 March) and Ireland (18 March). A second successive grand slam triumph would extend their winning run to 19 internationals.

New Zealand Rugby has agreed a pay rise for its player, boosting the player payment pool by NZ$70m (£40m) from $120m (£68m) to $190m (£108m) over the next three years. The New Zealand captain, Kieran Read, is likely to become the first All Black to earn more than NZ$1m (US$720,000) per season in salary. The latest pay increases reflect NZR’s determination to compete with lucrative offers from Europe where clubs are competing for All Black signatures.

“We’re in a position where we can offer considerably more for those players than the equivalent point four or five years ago and that’s making life a lot easier for us at that level. But there are still challenges and one or two of those players may still go,” said the NZR contracts manager, Chris Lendrum.