The Highlanders have a tough start and will end on the road but at least will not have to begin with a lengthy journey to the far reaches of Australia.
The official Super 14 draw was released yesterday, and the Highlanders have the honour of kicking off the tournament, with a game against the Brumbies at Carisbrook on February 13, which is just 86 days away.
The start of this competition does seem ridiculously early, but this may be the last year of a February kick-off.
When the competition started in 1996, it kicked off in the last weekend of February, but as it expanded, and especially in World Cup years, kick-off date was nearer the beginning of February than the end.
The competition is set to undergo changes in 2010, though its final form and structure have not been decided.
New Zealand Rugby Union chief executive Steve Tew has said he wants the season to start in mid-MarchNext year's competition was supposed to have an extra week, with the play-offs expanding to six teams, a change from the straight semifinals.
Under this scenario, what is the last round would have been played first, so the Highlanders would have had to trek all the way to Perth to play the Western Force, then take the long flight back to Dunedin to face the Brumbies.
But the six team play-off idea has been abandoned and the Highlanders will now have to play the Force in Perth in their final round-robin game.
If they are still in the play-off hunt, Perth is not a bad place to be based as it reasonably close to South Africa.
Going back to New Zealand would not be too bad, either, as the side will be looking forward to getting home after a three-week trek to South Africa.
After the first-up effort against the Brumbies, the Highlanders face a tough run of games, playing three of this year's four semifinalists in a row.
They have to travel to Wellington to play the Hurricanes, then cross the Tasman to take on the Waratahs, with both these games on Friday nights.
They then return home to take on the champion Crusaders side on March 7, a Saturday night, which the home union will be promoting heavily, as it is at the end of university orientation.
Invercargill hosts its first game for a couple of years, with the Chiefs playing on March 14.
The southern city hosts two games - for only the second time - with the other match against the Queensland Reds on Easter Saturday.
Ideally, this game would have been played at Queenstown, but as the resort town's ground has no lights and the match had to be played at night, it has been moved to Invercargill.
Highlanders chief executive Richard Reid said the franchise had arranged a commercial agreement with the Southland Rugby Union over the hosting of the two games, something he was comfortable with.
The Highlanders have the bye halfway through the competition.
They do not journey to South Africa until round 12, first facing the Sharks in Durban before the Lions in Johannesburg.
They may know their fate in the competition before they even get on the long flight to the republic.
