Leon MacDonald, pictured congratulating first-five Richie Mo'unga after Canterbury beat Tasman 35-13 in the Mitre 10 Cup premiership final last Saturday night, will coach Tasman for the next two years.

It appears unlikely Leon MacDonald's replacement will be signed-up before the Crusaders' squad is unveiled this week.

Applications for the assistant backline coach's position, which became vacant when MacDonald exercised the option to leave the Crusaders after one season into a two-year deal, closed on October 20 but the appointment process may not be completed before the Super Rugby champions' squad is released on Wednesday morning.

MacDonald has signed a fresh contract to be Tasman head coach through to the end of the 2019 season, citing family reasons for the decision to relocate back to Blenheim and snip his ties with the Crusaders.

Crusaders head coach Scott Robertson, who will this week assist Robbie Deans in preparing the Barbarians to face the All Blacks in London on Sunday morning, already has another assistant backs coach in Brad Mooar, along with set-piece specialist Jason Ryan, contracted to work with him in the wake of the 25-17 triumph over the Lions in the final Johannesburg on August 6.

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Whoever replaces MacDonald must prove he is capable of being accountable in a number of areas, including assisting Mooar in upskilling the backs and dealing with the first-strike attack, the backs' set-piece defence and exit/kicking strategies.

Although the Crusaders traditionally recruit coaches who hail from within their region, there is nothing to prevent them for choosing someone from outside the red and black loop.

Robertson did this during his first season in charge of Canterbury in 2013, having asked Jason Holland, a former Manawatu rep based in Ireland at the time, to relocate to New Zealand. Holland has since moved to the Hurricanes, where he is assisting Chris Boyd.

Former Crusaders assistant backs coach Tabai Matson, who is back in NZ after recently severing his ties as Todd Blackadder's assistant at English premiership club Bath, was Robertson's boss when Canterbury won the national title in 2012 but is understood to have already agreed to work under Colin Cooper at the Chiefs.

Scott Hansen was one of Robertson's assistants with Canterbury in 2014, but hasn't applied to work at the Crusaders in the wake of MacDonald's exit.

Former All Blacks first five-eighth David Hill, who joined the Blues as a skills coach when John Kirwan was in charge in 2015 and now an assistant at Bay of Plenty, didn't forward a CV. Neither did Grant Doorey, another who worked under Kirwan at the Blues.

Former Canterbury colts coach Dale MacLeod, who did good things as the Northland backs coach this year, and was shortlisted for a similar role when Robertson was still in charge of the provincial team but missed out to Joe Maddock, didn't apply for the Crusaders role.

Maddock has already been promoted to replace Glenn Delaney, who will join the Highlanders as their defence coach, as the Canterbury head coach next year.

Maddock could, potentially, replicate what MacDonald did this year by working at the Crusaders prior to switching his focus to Canterbury but the CRFU board may prefer he concentrate on helping the Mitre 10 Cup premiership winners retain their title.

Jon Preston recently left his job as the Highlanders high performance and skills coach, and is expected to be replaced by Otago coach Cory Brown.

Preston, an ex-Canterbury player, would offer value if interested in replacing MacDonald, but Highlanders chief executive Roger Clark has earlier stated Preston wants to advance his career by working as a head coach.