It will be a trip into the unknown for the Otago Spirit when it kicks off its national provincial campaign in Rotorua tomorrow.
The Spirit takes on Bay of Plenty at Rotorua International Stadium, looking to start the season with a win.
Bay of Plenty is one of two new teams to the competition this year- Hawkes Bay is the other, while Taranaki drops out - and Spirit coach John Hyde admits he knows little about the Bay side.
It last played in the national competition about 10 years ago but has some player resources to call upon.
The Spirit has had a limited preparation with club rugby only finishing a couple of weeks ago and Hyde said the side had been concentrating on getting some basic structure into its play and working on the set piece.
The side played a warm-up match against Canterbury in Temuka last weekend and, though it lost, Hyde said there were some encouraging signs.
The scrum was very sound and pushed the Canterbury pack round but the red and blacks used pace out wide to score.
Hyde said the Spirit had been working hard at training and looking to get the basics done in the early games.
The set piece was vital in many games and the ability to win ball was a must in the opening weeks of the competition.
''We want to make sure our set piece works well and that has given our scrum and lineout a bit of a focus. Our continuity is what we are looking forward to and if we can get that then we will be doing well,'' Hyde said.
The Spirit will fly to Rotorua today and will have a good preparation before playing tomorrow afternoon. The side will return to Dunedin on Sunday.
This should be good for teams who will be able to get adjusted to the venue and not feel in such a hurry.
Hyde is new to the coaching role this year and hoping the side grows throughout a reasonably lengthy season.
Only a few years ago, the competition struggled to get six teams, but now nine were involved with a complete round robin.
Otago has its first two games away before playing Counties-Manukau at home on September 6.
Black Ferns playmaker Victoria Subritzky-Nafatali may line up in tomorrow's match although that has yet to be confirmed.
If she does play, it will be off the bench.
The forwards have a solid look about them with youngster Georgia Mason on the flank.
The front row has plenty of grunt with the likes of Gemma Tuhega and Pip Love.
The backline will look to the likes of Greer Muir and Michaela Baker but the side has lost a few key backs from last year.
