The Ospreys are closing in on a deal for Chiefs fly-half Marty McKenzie, brother of All Blacks star Damian McKenzie.
A brutally tough opening to the season has seen the Welsh region pick up just one victory from five Guinness PRO14 games, with their squad savaged by injuries and World Cup calls.
They open their Heineken Champions Cup campaign against Munster a week on Saturday, with holders Saracens to be faced on the road the following weekend, and will be acutely aware they risk grave embarrassment unless their form improves.
It is also unclear how many of their World Cup players will be available for the early rounds of European action.
They brought in lock Marvin Orie on a temporary basis from Johannesburg-based side the Lions and he at least shored up their line-out when they faced Connacht last time out, claiming 10 takes on his own ball and stealing one off the Irishmen.
But they also need someone to give their backline direction.
Marty McKenzie could be that man, with the unflashy but reliable Invercargill-born player appearing set for a short-term contract.
His younger sibling Damian missed the World Cup because of injury. He is a firecracker of a player whose skill and boldness have led to comparisons with Beauden Barrett.
The older McKenzie is a different kind of player, but he is renowned for his solidity and he had a fine campaign with the Chiefs in Super Rugby this year.
The Ospreys are desperate for some sort of uplift.
They signed Gareth Anscombe from Cardiff Blues to run the side from No. 10, but he suffered a knee injury in the summer that could rule him out for the whole season.
Injuries have also cost Allen Clarke’ team the services of Dan Evans, Keelan Giles, Cory Allen, Luke Morgan, Shaun Venter and Harri Morgan, while George North and Owen Watkin have been away at the World Cup.
With all around him falling like ninepins, Luke Price has faced the testing job of trying to steady matters.
But the Ospreys backs have failed to fire — unsurprisingly, given the absence of so many key men behind the scrum and countless forwards — and the region have been mulling over whether to add to their resources.
