Duco Events — the brains behind the Joseph Parker campaign and the Auckland nines — has now got its hands among the national game.
The Brisbane Global 10s was officially launched yesterday and, as is standard for a Duco Events run enterprise, there were plenty of ringing endorsements about the new competition.
The Highlanders are one of 14 teams which will take part in the event on February 11-12 at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, which will stage the event for the next four years.
HIghlanders chief executive Roger Clark said it was an exciting event which would give the game a real profile leading into the season.
"It’s a great concept, which will be a great way to kick the season off and give a real international feel to the season," Clark said.
"We do play pre-season games but they don’t get a lot of profile. This will hopefully change that."
The tournament will feature the 10 Super rugby teams from Australia and New Zealand, French club Toulon, Japan’s Panasonic Wild Knights, the Samoan national side and the Bulls from South Africa.
The event has been more than three years in the planning and has received significant backing from the Queensland Government and Brisbane City Council.
Tens has been tried in various parts of the globe with varying success.
It is often seen as not being as quick as sevens but not as structured as the 15-a-side game.
Clark said the Highlanders could name a squad of 16 for the tournament but would have the whole team in Australia at the time, as the team had a pre-season game against the Waratahs the following week.
It would have a camp in the region for the week.
The team was also exploring the possibility of playing a game in Hong Kong.
It played a game against Racing 92 in the pre-season in February this year.
It would send its best players to the 10s and the rest to Hong Kong.
Clark said the priority was with the 10s tournament, which all Super rugby teams in Australia and New Zealand had committed to. Nothing had been confirmed for the Hong Kong game.
The side also has a pre-season game against the Crusaders organised in Christchurch.
The side played the Crusaders in Waimumu and the Waratahs in Queenstown in pre-season matches this year.
The 10s game is played by five forwards and five backs with proper scrums, minus the loose forwards.
Halves will last 10 minutes and there will be a five-minute halftime break.
All conversions will be drop-kicked and the scoring team kicks the ball off again, which is similar to sevens.
Yellow cards will result in a three-minute suspension and the advantage rule will be applied quickly and will last a a considerably shorter time than in the 15-a-side game.
There will be significant prize money.
Highlanders captain Ben Smith said in a statement the new 10s tournament was a great way to hit the 2017 season.
"We have lots of fans in Queensland and we can’t wait to get there and play in front of them and our travelling Kiwi supporters with this awesome event," he said.
The 10s tournament has been endorsed by the New Zealand and Australian Rugby Unions and will be broadcast in New Zealand.