Here's what you need to know about Super Rugby: first and foremost, it starts this weekend. Tomorrow (Friday) night, in fact.
Secondly, it's now called Super Rugby Pacific.
It's been born out of last year's trans-Tasman series and a long-held desire among rugby fans on both sides of the Tasman to have a competition based around our own teams, playing in our cities and time zones.
But also, with a long-overdue injection of Pacific island flair. More on this in a moment.
In truth, this new competition is the next iteration of formats derived over the previous COVID-19-impacted 18 months, and most crucially, the departure of South African-based teams to the northern hemisphere.
Now, while it's certainly true that joining northern hemisphere competitions has been an oft-threatened but unplayed card held by the South African Rugby Union, the break-up of Super Rugby as we knew it in March 2020 finally forced their hand.
That, and New Zealand rugby (NZR) declared that the break-up of Super Rugby as we knew it was the time to turn our attention on ourselves. Rugby Australia (RA) didn't need a lot of convincing.
With international borders closed, locally-based competitions were quickly developed out of necessity – for contractually required content and the income thereof, specifically.
But the intention from NZR and RA was always that they'd come together under one banner. They couldn't quite make it happen properly in 2021; the six-week trans-Tasman series was tacked onto the end of the respective domestic competitions and wasn't confirmed until the week of – but it's been all systems go ever since.
The result is what awaits rugby fans this weekend – the new era of Super Rugby Pacific.
Along with the five Australian sides and the five New Zealand sides, are two teams new to this level, but who will both bring a whole new level of passion, and flair, and pure rugby entertainment.
The Fijian Drua you might have heard of; the team played the last three seasons of Australia's domestic National Rugby Championship (NRC), winning the title in 2018.
Around half of the 2022 Drua squad gained experience during the NRC years while also playing locally in Fiji, but Super Rugby is another step that they're very excited to take.
The Fijian Rugby Union (FRU) jumped at the chance to get a Fijian-based side into Super Rugby, and see the move as a major development pathway for local players.
All of a sudden, professional rugby has come to the islands; players don't have to relocate to Australia or New Zealand, or to Europe to follow their rugby dream.
The FRU hope the Drua can do exactly the same for their national side as the Jaguares were already doing in Super Rugby for Argentina, and what Japanese national coach Jamie Joseph was setting the Sunwolves up to do.
The other new team is Moana Pasifika, a team based in South Auckland, but geared mainly to create opportunities for Tongan and Samoan eligible players and slowly build local depth for those nations as well.
While the Drua have the advantage of being something of an existing program, albeit one on hold, Moana Pasifika are the classic clean-slate new team coming into a new competition. New players, new coaches, new administration, new identity; the lot.
On the playing front, they've added some important experience in former Wallabies Christian Lealiifano and their inaugural captain Sekope Kepu, and while they've added a few other players with Super Rugby experience, the majority of the squad are fringe players from NZ's National Provincial Championship.
And the expectations around them are appropriate. This is a team that will take time to be competitive, and so success in 2022 may not be measured in wins.
Complicating the opening weeks of Super Rugby Pacific though, and quite likely lingering through the season, remains the threat of COVID-19 infiltrating teams.
As the cases mount in New Zealand, NZR made the move to get all six teams into a training and playing bubble in the ski resort town of Queenstown on the South Island last week, with some games to be played in Dunedin, too.
It wasn't quite quick enough, however, to stop a number of tests returning positive in the Moana Pasifika squad, forcing the postponement of what was to have been the season-opening game against Auckland neighbours and reigning Super Rugby trans-Tasman Champions, the Blues.
There's a degree of inevitability in the air that more teams will be affected, and more games postponed. But the Australian teams hope they're through the worst of it, with the five sides all hit by outbreaks during the off-season.
The Queensland Reds are coming off the back end of a small outbreak that took down a number of players including James O'Connor and Jordan Petaia, as well as coach Brad Thorn.
In terms of favouritism, the Reds and Brumbies will lead the way of the Australia teams again, as will the Crusaders and Blues of the Kiwis.
But it's going to be the greatly improving sides that will keep everyone on their toes — the NSW Waratahs won't have another winless season as they did in 2021, and the Hurricanes are certainly expected to be a much better team as well.
It will all come to a head from Friday night, where we'll find out which teams can hit the ground running, to start the new era of Super Rugby Pacific.
Super Rugby Pacific fixture — Round 1 (all times AEDT)
FRIDAY
Blues v Moana Pacifika, Dunedin (POSTPONED)
NSW Waratahs v Fijian Drua, Sydney 1945
SATURDAY
Chiefs v Highlanders, Queenstown 1435
Crusaders v Hurricanes, Dunedin 1705
Queensland Reds v Melbourne Rebels, Brisbane 1945
SUNDAY
Brumbies v Western Force, Canberra 1400
