Kiwi first fives to start for Australian Super Rugby sides

Southland's Wharenui Hawera and Wellington's Jackson Garden-Bachop are in line for Super Rugby starting gigs. Photo / Photosport

Two New Zealand first five-eighths could be starting for Australian sides in Super Rugby.

Jackson Garden-Bachop and Wharenui Hawera are the front-runners to wear the number 10 jersey for the Rebels and Brumbies respectively.

While both players had quality provincial seasons in the Mitre 10 Cup, neither were likely to be a regular fixture in the 22 for Kiwi sides, so they looked overseas.

Garden-Bachop has started the Rebels' pre-season trials at first-five, while Hawera has caught the eye of Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham.

The 23-year-old, who signed a one-year deal with the Super Rugby franchise in January after impressing Larkham on trial, is the frontrunner to replace Christian Lealiifano in the key playmaking role as the skipper recovers from a bone-marrow transplant.

Lealiifano's battle with leukaemia and Matt Toomua's departure to Europe left the Brumbies scrambling for options at the end of last season.

A fruitless search at home prompted Larkham to look across the ditch, where he said there were "four or five" others he could have picked from before settling on Hawera, who came through the Waikato system but played last year for Southland.

"There's a bit of a lack of Super Rugby-ready players in Australia - there's a good crop of players coming through in the inside backs positions, but are they ready for Super Rugby? We weren't really sure," Larkham told AAP.

"There probably is a little bit more depth over there and they're not getting the opportunity some of the others have been given.

"It makes sense for us to make sure we're not closed down with our blinkers on and just looking locally or nationally.

"We do have to look overseas at times and the beauty of Wharenui is we can develop him up and he might be an asset for Australia in years to come."

Hawera is set to start at No.10 in next weekend's season-opener against the Crusaders in Christchurch.

Larkham confirmed he'll be part of a raw playmaking axis alongside young halfback Joe Powell and recruit Kyle Godwin, who will start at inside centre.

Larkham is confident Hawera will make an immediate impact.

"The one thing noticeable with Wharenui when I came back from my break pre- Christmas was that his communication was just at a different level to everyone else," he said.

"Even to the guys who have been here in the past, you can see he's clearly played at that higher level - not just club rugby but the ITM Cup level before.

"The way he demanded authority out on the field and the way he communicated with the players was top-notch.

"He's a natural New Zealand player who sees the space quite well.

"He's very good at all the unstructured stuff, but we've given him a little bit of structure now and he's revelling in that at the moment.

- NZ Herald and AAP