The bid to secure Robbie Deans as the Wallabies' coach has stalled with reports the Australian Rugby Union is now questioning how much he should be paid.

After a four-hour meeting of the ARU board yesterday, there was still no official verdict as to which of the six candidates - Deans, David Nucifora, Ewen McKenzie, Laurie Fisher, John Muggleton and Alan Jones - would get the nod.

However, Deans is still considered the favourite.

After hearing a report from the selection panel via its chairman and ARU board member Rod McCall, the ARU released a statement that said it was "not yet in a position to confirm an appointment".

However, that does not mean the ARU has not yet made a decision, but rather that there is an impediment in the process.

It is understood that the stumbling block is whether the ARU is willing to offer Deans the reported $1 million-plus annual package it had first intended.

With the ARU having announced a $5 million loss for the year and planning to cut players' wages, it is believed some board members felt it would be difficult to justify that sum for a job which paid John Connolly about $350,000 a year.

It is thought the ARU might have some stronger leverage on Deans in light of his having missed the coveted All Blacks job, as well as having clearly expressed his passion and 100 per cent commitment to the job if offered it.

The break of proceedings brought to an end a tedious wait for not only Australian rugby but also for the code back in New Zealand, where the impending Deans switch to Australia has been front page news for a week.

Despite the delay, nothing has downgraded the expectancy that Deans is still the man the ARU wants.

The ARU informed all candidates by email yesterday morning to be on standby for a telephone call from chairman Peter McGrath in the afternoon. They were still waiting by late afternoon, but the belief that the announcement would favour Deans strengthened as the hours passed.

Fuelling it was Auckland NPC coach Pat Lam, who went public with his confirmation the Crusaders coach had asked him to be his assistant coach.

The two are close friends. Lam's association with Deans goes back to 1996, when he was playing with the Crusaders while Deans was the club's manager.

"I received a call from him congratulating me on the season," Lam said. "But then he asked if I wanted to be an assistant coach [of Australia], which would be an honour."

Deans, meanwhile, has been making the best use of what could be his last hours as a Crusaders coach since his return from Brisbane, where he was interviewed for the Wallabies' job on Tuesday.

The New Zealand Rugby Union is expected to end his stint as Canterbury coach once his ARU appointment is confirmed.

On Wednesday night Deans played for a local touch football team and set up a brilliant try. Yesterday he ran the Crusaders training session as usual and later attended a family function. His Crusaders players came out in support of him yesterday.

Halfback Andrew Ellis, whose wedding Deans attended last week, said: "It would be good to get all this cleared up so we know where we all stand".

But prop Greg Somerville said Deans had "acted totally professionally as if nothing has happened".

And Richie McCaw said "it is all out of our control" but added that nothing had been different about the team's pre-season training.

Until the ARU board meeting broke at 6pm yesterday, the only development to create any interest was the arrival of two caterers carrying dinner for the ARU board's scheduled post-meeting dinner.

Then after about 30 minutes came a fleet-footed departure of ARU vice-chairman Peter Cosgrove, who would not comment on the meeting.

Awaiting media were reassured by ARU staff that Cosgrove had not snubbed the dinner because of what was on the menu but had "prior engagement".

¡ Meanwhile, AAP reports that Waratahs halfback Brett Sheehan is nursing a broken hand following a freak accident during the final moments of the squad's three-day camp in Wollongong.

Sheehan will be sidelined for three weeks after accidentally smacking his right hand against the shoulder of a life saving instructor while running in a team surf challenge race at Bulli.

"I went to tag Rocky Elsom but the instructor moved into the way and my hand smashed into his shoulder and I knew straight away it was broken," said Sheehan.

"It's a shame that I've been put back a little but it's just one of those things. I'm just glad it happened now and not next month."

Sheehan will resume fulltime training in three weeks and will not be in doubt for any of the Waratahs' Super 14 trial matches.