Wayne Smith's love of the New Zealand jersey has seen him turn down an offer from Welsh side Ospreys to see out his two-year deal with the New Zealand Rugby Union.

Smith has been Graham Henry's assistant All Blacks coach since 2004 but had been seriously contemplating the offer from the Swansea-based club because of his desire to spend more time with his family.

But after negotiating a reduction in the amount of high performance work and travel he will do, the former All Blacks outhalf will remain working alongside Henry and fellow assistant coach Steve Hansen until the end of 2009.

"I love the jersey, I love my country and I love the people I'm working with and coaching," said Smith. "At the end of the day that's the most important thing in the game and sometimes you have to remind yourself of that."

Speculation had been rife about Smith's future throughout New Zealand's Grand Slam tour, and the 51-year-old revealed Ospreys were just one of a host of European clubs interested in signing him.

The All Blacks success this year of 13 wins in 15 Test matches after the disappointment of 2007, plus backing from his family, had also persuaded him to stay, to the delight of Henry.

"He's the best in the world at what he does and, apart from what he does, his presence in this group of people is huge with his love of the team and the All Black jersey and what it all means," Henry said.

Henry, however, might find he has a tougher battle on his hands to retain kicking coach Mick Byrne who is considering an offer to join John Kirwan in Japan, while scrum coach Mike Cron is also in demand.

"It's always a challenge," Henry added. "This group of coaches are being sought after around the world. So it's going to be a continuous challenge (to keep them)."