ACT Brumbies guide: Five Western Force players have been born-again in the capital following the Super Rugby axing saga.

The only way is up for Australian Super Rugby fans with plenty to look forward to this season following a horror 2017.

Kurtley Beale is hoping to put into practice some of things he learned abroad during an eye-opening stint in the northern hemisphere when he laces the boots for his first proper hit-out with the Waratahs since 2016.

• ANALYSIS

The first time, he was given the benefit of the doubt. After another drugs-related court appearance, Karmichael Hunt looks to be fast losing patrons at both the Reds and Rugby Australia.

Wallabies attack coach Stephen Larkham bobbed up at Waratahs training ahead of the opening round of Super Rugby.

Hunt will face court on drug possession charges on Monday in Brisbane as reports emerge that he may be headed back to France at the end of year to try and continue his rugby career.

Rugby reporter Tom Decent dissects the four Australian Super Rugby teams ahead of the 2018 season.

A two-year study of junior competitions in Canberra and Sydney found weight alone was not enough to determine what age grade a player should be playing in.

Newly appointed Wallaroos coach Dwayne Nestor says it would be a "fairytale" to see Australia awarded hosting rights for the 2021 Women's Rugby World Cup.

Wallabies coach Michael Cheika says he is close to replacing revered scrum guru Mario Ledesma.

Brad Thorn heard some disturbing things after Queensland's disappointing Super Rugby season. It won't be repeated on his watch as the towering All Black brings a new world order to Ballymore.

As tensions surface in the usually trouble-free waters of New Zealand rugby, the Wallabies are driving hard for closer engagement with the Australian Super Rugby sides.

Rugby Australia will be watching Canberra crowds this year to see if the capital is keen for more rugby.

Brumbies coach Dan McKellar needed two words to sum up plans for the season: more tries.

Israel Folau seems happy playing rugby but with his Wallabies eligibility secured for the long term it is the threat of Europe, not rugby league, that Australian coach Michael Cheika must ward off.

Quade Cooper and Karmichael Hunt might be banned from Ballymore for the time being, but two of Australian rugby's highest earners have been secretly training together for weeks at a boxing gym four kilometres away in Brisbane's inner city.

The Wallabies coach and Rugby Australia's boss have conceded the Quade Cooper situation is a bad look for the game.

David Pocock's sabbatical year has been one of the talking points of the season since the flanker returned to Australia only to have surgery to repair an ongoing knee issue. But Wallabies coach Michael Cheika had a few things to say to the critics.

• EXCLUSIVE

A big name new sponsor for the Wallabies could mean the clouds are lifting over rugby after one of the worst year's in the game's Australian history.