With the exception of some All Blacks who are still to return to their franchises, all five New Zealand teams are gearing up for eight pre-season games, before the 2011 Investec Super Rugby competition begins on 18 February.
The Hurricanes will host the Highlanders in round one at Westpac Trust Stadium on the Friday night, while the Blues will host the Crusaders at Eden Park on Saturday.
The Chiefs begin their season with a tough match against the Brumbies at Canberra Stadium, with the Waikato based franchise hitting the road for their first two matches.
The pre-season matches will be played in the heartlands, as Mangatainoka, Balclutha, Kerikeri, Taupo, Oamaru and Pukekohe will all experience rugby action.
The match at Mangatainoka will take place for the second year, and has become arguably the small region's flagship event, with the January 29 match between the Hurricanes and Chiefs set to sell out with 10,000 spectators.
Tui Brewery commercial manager, Nick Rogers, said the match was a special occasion.
"This will not only be a great game between two of Super Rugby's most passionate franchises, but it will be an event because we are taking New Zealand rugby back to the heartland again," Rogers said.
"The 2010 game, which was the Hurricanes biggest attendance at a pre-season game ever and the only pre-season game that has ever sold out, proved that people are still passionate about rugby and passionate about supporting their team."
On the final Saturday of January the Crusaders will travel to flood ravaged Queensland to play the Reds in Cairns, while the Highlanders and the Blues head to Balclutha.
The Blues and Hurricanes will play each other in Kerikeri on Friday 4 February, while the Crusaders play the Melbourne Rebels in their first match at the new AAMI Park in Melbourne.
The final weekend will see the Brumbies host the Hurricanes in Canberra on Thursday 10 February, on Friday 11 February the Highlanders and Crusaders head to Oamaru, while two old foes do battle as the Chiefs and Blues clash at Bayer Growers Stadium in Pukekohe.
The NZ Investec Super Rugby pre-season fixtures:
Saturday 29 January
Reds v Crusaders TBC Barlow Park, Cairns
Highlanders v Blues 13:00 AMP Showgrounds, Balclutha
Hurricanes v Chiefs 15:00 Mangatainoka RFC, Mangatainoka
Friday 4 February
Blues v Hurricanes 17:00 Kerikeri Domain, Kerikeri
Saturday 5 February
Rebels v Crusaders 20:00 AAMI Park, Melbourne
Chiefs v Highlanders 14:30 Owen Delany Park, Taupo
Thursday 10 February
Brumbies v Hurricanes 19:40 Viking Park, Canberra
Friday 11 February
Highlanders v Crusaders 16:30 Whitestone Contracting Stadium, Oamaru
