NSW Waratahs chief Greg Harris hopes Bernard Foley's historic "flexible contract" with the Australian Rugby Union hasn't set a dangerous precedent in Australian rugby.

Foley on Thursday recommitted to the Waratahs and Wallabies until the end of 2018, while also allowed to play two seasons in Japan, but only after a process Harris said "probably hasn't been as comfortable a process as what we would have liked".

Foley is now free to play for a Japanese club - believed to be Ricoh Black Rams - after the 2015 Rugby World Cup in Britain and again after the 2016 Rugby Championship.

Foley has dismissed burnout concerns, but Harris said the Waratahs held meetings with insurers on Thursday to gauge an understanding of the 25-year-old's legal responsibilities amid the real likelihood that he could be injured during his "serious amount of continuous football".

"This probably hasn't been as comfortable a process as what we would have liked," Harris said. "But at the end of the day, the deal was done [already with Foley's Japanese club] and we've got to work with what's there.

"There was some difficulty involved in trying to arrange the contract around the two stints because the two stints had been agreed to prior to really getting into final discussions about his contract with the Waratahs and the Wallabies."

Bernard Foley has rejected burnout fears © Getty Images

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The Waratahs ultimately were delighted to have retained Foley, but Harris said the Super Rugby champions wouldn't be dictated to by player power and would consider flexible contracts only on "a case-by-case" basis.

"There's certain players who we'd encourage to do that because, look, we're facing up to the fact that it's an international player market. Our major competitors in the sporting spectrum in Australia - the AFL and NRL - don't have that problem that we have.

"I think it's a sign of maturity as far as the rugby marketplace is concerned that we're looking at it in this light. But at the same time, you want to have a controlled situation with it. It can't be carte blanche."

Harris said that Israel Folau was another marquee player likely to be permitted a flexible contract. Wallabies backline utility Kurtley Beale and Waratahs skipper Dave Dennis are other off-contract stars likely to seek such privileges.