As Super Rugby Aotearoa prepares for its launch tomorrow night - with the Highlanders hosting the Chiefs in Dunedin - Kiwi fans can hunker down for 10 weeks of New Zealand's best going toe-to-toe.
With no definitive answer to Test rugby in the pipeline in 2020 due to the global ramifications of Covid-19, Super Rugby Aotearoa could firm as the only real chance to see All Blacks stars in action for the immediate future.
And with those All Blacks to feature prominently in Super Rugby Aotearoa - with no "rest orders" in sight - expect some fierce competition from the five New Zealand sides over the coming 10 weeks.
Fans won't have to wait long to see All Blacks' stars lock horns either, with tomorrow night's opening match in Dunedin seeing halfbacks Aaron Smith and Brad Weber square off under the roof of Forsyth Barr Stadium.
"Two of the three All Blacks halfbacks are going toe-to-toe in Dunedin," Scotty Stevenson told TVNZ 1's Breakfast.
"There's match ups across the park - and that's what people want to see.
"They want to see what's extensively 10 weeks of All Black trials.
"As a country [where] the All Blacks are the pinnacle of rugby for most people in this country, they're going to see who makes the All Blacks over a 10-week trial period. Crazy."
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