captain the Melbourne Rebels this season and says the team's opening games will tell whether they will be competitive this season.

The Blues' best years ended when they last won the championship a decade ago and new coach John Kirwan is not promising an immediate turnaround.

Kirwan is starting from scratch and has signed 16 new players - of whom 11 have never played Super rugby before - while losing two of the Blues veteran All Blacks, Tony Woodcock and Ma'a Nonu, who have departed for the Highlanders.

Ali Williams, who has struggled with injury in recent years, has been trusted with the captaincy and the vital role of assisting with the rebuilding of team morale.

Williams, Anthony Boric and Keven Mealamu bring a wealth of international experience to the pack, butin the backs there is a distinct green tinge outside scrum-half Piri Weepu. The pivotal fly-half role is being shared by Chris Noakes and Baden Kerr.

Under former World Cup-winning Springboks coach Jake White, the Brumbies narrowly failed to win last season's Australian conference and a place in the play-offs with a final-round loss to the Blues.

The Brumbies have bolstered their squad with the addition of Wallabies' star flanker David Pocock from Western Force and South African lock Etienne Oosthuizen, while former Wallaby back Clyde Rathbone has come out of a three-year retirement.

White has also recruited former National Rugby League coach Brian Smith as the team's defence coach.

The Brumbies have a core of experience with Wallabies Stephen Moore, Ben Alexander and Pat McCabe and some exciting young talent in