The Highlanders look set to head to Queenstown at the end of next month to take on the Rebels.
The match is part of the Super Rugby transtasman competition and is a consequence of the Super Round being scrapped.
The Super Round was supposed to involve all five matches being played at one venue, but it became too logistically challenging to gather all the teams together in one city.
Instead, the teams decided three games should be played in New Zealand and two in Australia.
The Highlanders will take on the Rebels and New Zealand Rugby announced yesterday the match will be played somewhere in the Highlanders region on Sunday, May 30, at 2.35pm.
Highlanders chief executive Roger Clark did not return calls yesterday, but it is believed the Highlanders are looking at playing the game in Queenstown.
The game will be played during the day, so no lights are needed, which allows the game to be played at the Queenstown Events Centre.
A Super Rugby match will be a shot in the arm for the resort, which has been severely impacted by Covid-19.
The last time the Highlanders played a Super Rugby match in Queenstown was in 2010, when the side was well beaten by the Force in a very disappointing display.
Southland Rugby Football Union general manager Steve Mitchell said his union knew nothing about the proposed game but one of the goals of the union was to get the Highlanders back playing in Invercargill.
The Super Round will now be called round three of the transtasman competition.
It will start with the Hurricanes hosting the Perth-based Force at McLean Park in Napier on May 28.
The Crusaders will travel to Wollongong to play the Waratahs on May 29.
The Blues host the Brumbies at Eden Park in Auckland and the Chiefs head to Queensland to take on the Reds in Townsville in the late matches on May 29.
The Highlanders’ first match in the Super Rugby transtasman competition is against the Reds in Dunedin on May 14.
