Next year's inaugural Super Rugby Pacific draw has been overhauled due to the ongoing uncertainty surrounding restrictions at the Australian and NZ borders.
The five Australian teams and Fijian Drua - who are also based in Australia - are currently unable to travel to New Zealand without undergoing MIQ, as cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 continue to soar.
On Tuesday, the Government announced they'd delayed their plans to allow fully vaccinated Kiwis and residents to enter the country from mid-January until at least the end of February.
On Thursday, NZ Rugby announced the rejigged draw, which now features all of the derby matches between the NZ teams - and Mt Smart-based newcomers Moana Pasifika - at the start of the schedule, while the Australian sides and Fijian Drua will do the same across the Tasman.
Those games will run through until April 22, at which stage organisers hope border restrictions would have eased enough to allow teams to travel across the ditch to complete round-robin play and the eight-team playoffs.
Originally slated to host the Brumbies at Mt Smart Stadium in the competition opener, Moana Pasifika will now take on the Blues on February 18, while the Fijian Drua take on the Waratahs the same night at an Australian venue yet to confirmed.
Rather than during round two in February, the 'super round' - where all of the teams travel to Melbourne to play their games over one weekend - will now be held from April 22-24.
"We are thrilled that we’ve been able to maintain the integrity of the draw, with the key elements of Super Rugby Pacific remaining despite the disruptions caused by COVID-19," says NZ Rugby's general manager professional rugby and performance Chris Lendrum.
"We believe the full round-robin schedule, the 'super round', bye rounds, themed rounds and playoffs were all non-negotiables in revising the schedule."
The revised draw maintains the same key elements of the original, with each team to play a total of 14 matches during the regular season, 11 round-robin fixtures, plus three additional derby matches, which will see each team play a home and away series against three other teams.
"We believe these changes will allow us to navigate the ongoing challenges of COVID-19, while ensuring we maintain the integrity of the draw and the format of the new Super Rugby Pacific competition," says Rugby Australia chief executive Andy Marinos.
Click here to view the full revised Super Rugby Pacific schedule.
