Dan McKellar's ACT Brumbies eye a Super Rugby test in trans-Tasman competition

Rugby Australia and New Zealand Rugby have struck a deal to host a trans-Tasman competition to run from May 14 until June 19 following each nation's domestic competition.

The Brumbies will open their campaign against the Canterbury Crusaders in Christchurch, in a blockbuster which comes one week after the Super Rugby AU decider.

Should McKellar's side replicate their Australian triumph again in 2021, they would need to pick themselves up again with a potential six-day turnaround before facing the Kiwi powerhouse.

All 10 teams will play two home games and two away games, with round three dubbed a 'Super Round' with all games played in one location on May 28-29.

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Teams will only play opposition from across the ditch, before the two highest ranked teams, irrespective of whether they are from Australia or New Zealand, meet in the final on June 19.

It gives clubs the chance to win two grand finals in one season in a primetime television slot. All 26 matches live on Stan Sport, with one game per weekend live on the Nine Network.

"If you want to be the best in the world, you've got to beat the best. That's what the challenge will be from May next year," McKellar said.

"That's certainly going to be the goal and the challenge ahead of us, to back-to-back in our own competition and then challenge ourselves against five quality teams.

"That's going to be tough. Squad depth and managing player load is going to be really important. Going from potentially being in a grand final and then backing up the following week over in Christchurch, it doesn't get any tougher than that.

"We're all professional footballers, professional coaches, and we want to play against the best and challenge ourselves against the best. That's the opportunity that is presented."

McKellar's squad will reassemble at the club's University of Canberra base on Monday for a five week block of pre-season training, however their Wallabies players will not return until January.

The Brumbies will open their Super Rugby AU campaign against the Western Force on February 19 in Perth, which kicks off the 10-round competition. The top three teams enter a finals series with the decider to be held on May 8.

Super Rugby Aotearoa begins on February 26, with 10 rounds to be played before the top two teams advance straight to the grand final on May 8.

All 10 teams will then front up for a brand new season, which both gives the two grand final-winners a shot at a rare championship double and opens the door for the also-rans to make amends and claim the silverware.

Exact dates and locations are yet to be locked in for the trans-Tasman competition but the Brumbies look set to play their first two games on New Zealand shores.

Battles with the Crusaders and Waikato Chiefs are followed by the Super Round, which pits the Brumbies against the Auckland Blues at a location to be confirmed.

The Brumbies are then in line to host the Wellington Hurricanes and Otago Highlanders in consecutive weeks at Canberra Stadium before the final on June 19.

An additional two home games gives the club six matches at Canberra Stadium in 2021, providing a much-needed boost after coronavirus kept plenty of fans away this year, as well as giving officials and fans certainty as the Brumbies prepare to launch a membership drive.

"Our members know there is a really good package of rugby available to watch live. Hopefully crowds aren't restricted in 2021, that's really exciting," McKellar said.

"The fact we're now on free to air TV, any boy or girl, mum or dad, can watch rugby union and have access to it every week is a huge positive for our players and has commercial advantages as well.

"All teams will have the ability to knock each other off on any given day. It'll be interesting to see, but we won't be getting too far ahead of ourselves.

"We'll just focus on having a really good pre-season, and deal with the domestic competition to start with because that will be tough enough."

Round one: Friday, February 19 - Western Force v ACT Brumbies at Perth Oval.

Round two: Saturday, February 27 - ACT Brumbies v NSW Waratahs at Canberra Stadium.

Round three: Saturday, March 6 - Melbourne Rebels v ACT Brumbies at Melbourne Stadium.

Round four: Saturday, March 13 - ACT Brumbies v Queensland Reds at Canberra Stadium.

Round five: Bye

Round six: Friday, March 26 - ACT Brumbies v Western Force at Canberra Stadium.

Round seven: Friday, April 2 - NSW Waratahs v ACT Brumbies at venue TBC.

Round eight: Saturday, April 10 - Queensland Reds v ACT Brumbies at Lang Park.

Round nine: Friday, April 16 - ACT Brumbies v Melbourne Rebels at Canberra Stadium.

Round 10: Bye

Qualifying Final: Saturday, May 1 - Second-ranked team v Third-ranked team

Final: Saturday, May 8 - First-ranked team v Winner of qualifying final

*All kick-off times to be confirmed

Round one: May 14-15 - Canterbury Crusaders v ACT Brumbies

Round two: May 21-22 - Waikato Chiefs v ACT Brumbies

Round three: May 28-29 - ACT Brumbies v Auckland Blues

Round four: June 4-5 - ACT Brumbies v Wellington Hurricanes

Round five: June 11-12 - ACT Brumbies v Otago Highlanders

Final: Saturday, June 19 - First-ranked team v Second-ranked team

*All venues and kick-off times to be confirmed