Its other two crossover games will be against Tasman and Wellington.
Representatives from the 14 provincial unions have selected the opposition for the crossover matches between the Premiership and Championship teams for the 2018 season.
The first round of picks were selected by Premiership teams in reverse order of seeding and will be home games for the Championship teams.
Newly promoted Wellington had the first pick and opted for Manawatu, while Auckland went next and will travel to Invercargill to play Southland.
Tasman had the sixth pick in the first round and was left with a choice between Otago and Bay of Plenty and selected Otago.
The second round of picks were selected by Championship teams in reverse order of seeding and will be played as home games for the Championship teams.
Otago had the fifth pick and had to decide among Taranaki, Wellington and Canterbury. It went for Canterbury.
In the third round, Premiership teams picked their crossover opponent for a home game.
Taranaki chose Manawatu with the third pick and that match could be a Ranfurly Shield challenge, while Wellington had the last pick and was left with Otago.
In the final round, Otago selected Auckland for its away game ahead of its only other option which was North Harbour.
