Premier club rugby is set to start with a bang as the squeeze goes on to get the two full rounds played inside the available window.
Clubs voted late last year to have two full rounds as opposed to last season when a confusing structure was put in place in which one full round was played and then all teams but Kaikorai had a bye in the other round.
The number of Saturdays available this year does not quite fit into the window of 16 games, followed by semifinals and the final which will be at the end of July.
A new council of clubs, which will replace the Metropolitan Rugby Council when passed at the union’s next annual meeting, has decided to start the season with three rounds in nine days.
The competition will begin with games played on Friday, March 20, with the kick-off time for games to be either 5pm or 6pm. It should still be light enough to play games without floodlights.
The next round of games will then be played on Monday, March 23, Otago Anniversary Day. Games will start later in the afternoon.
The next round of games will be played on the following Saturday, March 28.
From then, all games should be played on Saturday afternoons.
Playing the extra game early on in the season should help as more players would be available.
Other grades are scheduled to start on March 28.
The council is also considering having just one grade for premier two and senior teams although they would play in separate sections after a period of grading games.
The interim chairman of the council of clubs is Paul Dwyer.