Brumbies Tom Banks, Scott Sio and Noah Lolesio set to be unleashed in Super Rugby trial

Brumbies coach Dan McKellar will rest the bulk of his Test stars, but Tom Banks, Scott Sio and Noah Lolesio are all expected to get game time in the trial match at Bowral.

Banks hasn't played since breaking his arm in September and Sio, a 59-Test prop, was overlooked for Wallabies duties last year while Lolesio was in and out of Australia's No. 10 role.

Wallabies will be scattered through the extended squad in the only pre-season clash against a rival club, with most of the Brumbies' top squad to get match fitness in an intra-club trial.

McKellar said there was no point rushing Test players back on to the field after a long campaign with the Wallabies and is instead urging new talent to take their opportunity to step up.

Versatile back-rower Ed Kennedy is expected to get his first chance to impress while Ryan Lonergan and Lachlan Albert will step in at scrumhalf in the absence of Nic White.

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"There will be some exciting new, young players that people won't be aware of yet that will make them sit up and take notice," McKellar said of the team.

"There will be some familiar faces as well. It would be silly for me to roll out some of the boys who played just about every minute of Super Rugby as well as the international season.

"Some guys only got back to training last week. A lot of our younger players in the group get a chance to pull on the Brumbies jersey for the first time."

The Brumbies will play a new-look Waratahs side, which will be led by former Brumbies Academy coach Darren Coleman.

The Waratahs will also likely rest the bulk of their Wallabies less than a month before the Super Rugby season opener.

The rivals will only meet once in the new trans-Tasman format - a clash in Canberra on March 5 - but McKellar and his men are preparing for the unexpected in what is expected to be the third COVID-19 interrupted season in a row.

The New Zealand government is still blocking international travel, casting doubt over matches against Kiwi opponents while the Western Force could be forced to relocate again.

The Brumbies were due to meet the Force in Perth in round one, but Western Australia's border closure has thrown the opening game into chaos.

"I'm sure all the options are on the table," McKellar said. "You feel for [coach Tim Sampson] and the Force because an all likelihood they'll need to relocate for a period of time.

"We'll wait and see where where [round one] is. If we need to travel to a to a neutral venue, then then we'll do so. It's round one, it's not hard to get motivated."

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