Former All Black Aaron Mauger is about to become ex-Crusaders and All Blacks teammates Brad Thorn and Scott Hamilton's new boss.
The current Crusaders assistant-coach has signed a three-year contract as head coach of the Leicester Tigers, his last professional club.
Mauger - who turns 34 on Saturday - will leave for England after next year's Super Rugby competition.
The Leicester squad includes Thorn, 39, Hamilton, 34, and Fiji midfielder Seremaia Bai, 35.
But Mauger, who will be in charge of the Tigers' team alongside director of rugby Richard Cockerill, doesn't see age as a factor.
"That won't be an issue," the former Leicester captain said.
"I've had that in last couple of years where I've been coaching guys like Richie [McCaw] and Corey Flynn, who I played with. It hasn't been a problem. You just have to establish those professional boundaries nice and early. But it doesn't mean you can't still be a mentor and a mate."
Mauger earned 45 All Blacks test caps between 2001 and 2007 and played in two World Cup tournaments. He won Super rugby titles with the Crusaders and NPC Crowns and the Ranfurly Shield with Canterbury before linking with Leicester in 2007. But after 53 games he was forced to retire prematurely in 2010 with a chronic back injury.
He returned to Christchurch in June 2010 with his young family, took up club coaching with High School Old Boys and joined the Canterbury NPC coaching staff.
But he said last night he "always thought I'd go back to Leicester at some stage. I just didn't think it would be this early.
"I spoke to the club last year [about the vacant head coach role], but the timing was not great for us. But I feel I'm ready to go now and the family are ready to go too, which is a big part of it."
Mauger said he had "grown a lot as a coach" in the Canterbury and Crusaders environment and had learnt a lot from working with Todd Blackadder, Tabai Matson, Scott Robertson and Rob Penney.
But he believed he was ready to be a head coach.
"It helps that I'm going to a place I feel pretty passionate about. I loved it at Leicester, they're a fantastic club, pretty similar to the Canterbury and Crusaders setups. They've got a rich history and a lot of good people involved and the fact I know the place will make it easier to transition.
"We've got some good friends in the area and are looking forward to renewing those connections."
Mauger said it was still his ambition to return to New Zealand at some stage and "go as far as I can, as a coach". But the Leicester opportunity was too good to turn down.
He has a good rapport with Cockerill, who will continue to coach the Leicester forwards, and will work alongside his former Leicester teammate, ex-Ireland fullback Geordan Murphy, and former Warriors and Manly NRL player Phil Blake, who are the backline coaches.
Leicester are fifth in the 12-team Leicester premiership. Their squad includes England internationals Tom Croft, Manu Tuilagi and Ben Youngs. Mauger will be in charge of team selection, game plans and training programmes but Cockerill will deal with the board and "some of the peripheral stuff'.
"My aim is to help create the framework for Leicester to once again be amongst the top clubs in European and world rugby."
He said he had been lucky to have played under some "fantastic coaches", such as Wayne Smith, Steve Hansen and Robbie Deans and had noted "the impact those guys can have through setting up good frameworks".
Before he leaves for Leicester, he remains committed to helping the Crusaders win their first Super rugby title since 2008.
Crusaders Head Coach Todd Blackadder said Mauger was "a highly valued" member of the coaching team and he would "hate to see" him go.
"But in saying that, we all know that this is an opportunity that should not be passed up so we are 100 percent on board with Azza's decision and wish him the very best for this next stage in his coaching career. He is an outstanding coach and he is ready for this head coaching role."
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