Bubble life beckons for yet another of New Zealand's domestic sporting competitions.
Newshub can reveal big changes are set to be confirmed for the inaugural season of Super Rugby Aupiki, that'll see players heading into isolation for a condensed, tournament-style competition to mitigate the impact of the Omicron variant.
While the competition will still go ahead in the face of the rising daily rate of COVID-19, it will look considerably different than originally intended.
As planned, it will begin on March 5, but will run over a condensed 14-day period, rather than through until the end of the month.
All four of the teams will be based in a Taupō bubble - similar to that of the Super Rugby Pacific set-up in Queenstown - with all matches to take place in the nearby region.
Four round-robin matches will be played at intervals of just four days, with a grand final to follow fo the top two sides.
While the spread of Omicron is the primary reason for the changes, the shorter timeframe also reduces the strain on the majority of the players who are not full-time and have families and other jobs to attend to.
Super Rugby Aupiki comprises the Blues, Chiefs, Hurricanes and Matatū, who represent the South Island regions.
An official announcement from New Zealand Rugby is expected on Monday.
