All Blacks stars are bracing for pay cuts as an inevitable consequence of the sport's inactivity in rugby-mad New Zealand over the coming weeks and months.
Veteran Test hooker Dane Coles said players will be among those to take a financial hit out of necessity after rugby of any form was put back indefinitely on Monday because of the coronavirus.
NZ Rugby has delayed its proposed Kiwi Super Rugby competition and a decision is expected soon on the viability of three home Tests involving the All Blacks in July.
Coles said the players were resigned to spending time apart and to face the consequences of the sport's stagnation.
"It's inevitable (pay cuts) and that's totally understandable considering what's going on in New Zealand," Coles told NZME.
"Rugby players in New Zealand might have to prepare for that but that's just my opinion. You don't want New Zealand Rugby to go under, it would be a bad thing. So hopefully the rugby players around New Zealand can do their part."
NZ Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson said meetings this week will determine how his body intends to ride out a dramatic fall in revenue, which will inevitably entail dipping into its significant financial reserves.
NZ Rugby is an incorporated society so is entitled to government aid, something Robinson said will be pursued.
The Super Rugby teams are owned by private investors who are guarantors until the end of the season.
Those investors will join crisis talks this week, along with the NZ Rugby Players Association and representatives of the country's 26 provincial unions.
Robinson admitted as a high-profile public organisation, there would be intense focus on NZ Rugby's next steps.
"It's clear there are challenges and no one's hiding from those but we remain optimistic," Robinson said.
"We know we're going to pull out of this as a game and as a country. It's just a matter of when and that's where challenges and things like anxiety and tension build, when we've got uncertainty like this."