Melbourne Rebels will embrace the spotlight when they open the 2017 Super Rugby season against the Blues of Auckland at AAMI Park on February 23.

​Organisers of the glitzy new Brisbane Global Tens are hopeful it will provide Super Rugby with the high-profile summer springboard the sport has long needed.

You know the Hurricanes but who are the Lions? Three seasons after politics forced them out of Super Rugby, the Lions are ready to roar.

To say the Waratahs didn't get the rub of the green in Auckland would be an understatement. Yet, they bow out of this year's competition with no burning sense of injustice. There were too many soft moments.

Australian rugby's weekend Super Rugby horror show highlights the need for changes in how the professional game operates, Bill Pulver says.

Customarily, this column also selects a team of the week from the best performances in the Australian conference, but that won't be happening this week.

• COMMENT

Coaches face the same merry-go-round selection process that players do. They are subject to the same scrutiny of form and talent to reach the top.

Melbourne Rebels will have an independent review of their whole football department after injuries have derailed the side's Super Rugby season.

Melbourne Rebels' injury list hasn't got any shorter but coach Tony McGahan hopes he can regain a couple of his injured stars for their trip to Christchurch to face the Crusaders on Saturday night.

• Podcast

The Raiders are knocking on the top four door, the Brumbies are just two games from finals. Where's the support?

Big wins against the competition lightweights can be misleading, but the Waratahs will be delighted at getting some work into Taqele Naiyaravoro's legs, the continued emergence of Matt Lucas as a potentially vital impact player who can change things up, and the development of Andrew Kellaway at No.15.

The Hurricanes' big men came to the rescue in a 37-27 win over the Blues in Wellington which keeps them in the hunt for Super Rugby's top qualifying spot.

Australian Amy Perrett is set to become the first woman assistant referee in Super Rugby history when she officiates in the game between Melbourne Rebels and South Africa's Stormers on Saturday.

The ageless one, George Smith, has officially been unveiled by the Queensland Reds, with the Wallaby signing on the dotted line at Ballymore for the 2017 and 2018 Super Rugby seasons.

• UNION

ACT Brumbies prop Scott Sio believes Tevita Kuridrani's battle with Israel Folau for the Wallabies No.13 jersey will bring out the best in his teammate against the Japan Sunwolves in Canberra on Saturday night. 

Waratahs prop Angus Ta'avao says a match-winning scrum three weeks ago against the Stormers has given NSW the confidence they can win in Christchurch and break a twelve-year drought there.

ACT Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham has welcomed this week's bye as a chance for the club to get its off-field situation in order before shooting for a Super Rugby finals spot. 

He's been dubbed "Bernie Junior" for his likeness to Wallabies great Stephen Larkham, but Nick Jooste doesn't let comparisons consume him. 

Kurtley Beale and Israel Folau, two Wallabies from Sydney's western suburbs, have urged the Australian Rugby Union to take on the rival football codes and make a serious commitment to developing their sport in the talent-rich outer suburbs.