Hamish Northcott hasn't given up hope of landing a Super Rugby contract having not been re-signed by the Blues.
The young centre made six appearances for the Auckland franchise in the 2015 competition but with the coaching changes at the Blues – Tana Umaga replacing John Kirwan – Northcott has been missed out.
The 23-year-old also revealed that he had received a contract from the Hurricanes only to miss out on the squad for 2016 as well.
"I am trying to keep fit and conditioned at the moment so if I do get a phone call, I can hit the ground running," Northcott told Stuff.
"The main thing [last year] was the change in lifestyle.
"Living up in Auckland was a bit of an eye-opener for a boy coming out of Feilding. It was a good experience being a full-time professional.
"It was looking positive in terms of being re-contracted, but he told me he could not guarantee anything because his job was up in the air at that stage.
"Tana was in touch before the ITM Cup campaign just to let me know that he would be watching. He gave me a call just before the deadline to say that I had missed out.
"The Hurricanes assistant coach Jason Holland gave me a call as well to say that I had missed out on them as well."
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