Should The Rugby Championship go ahead in New Zealand later this year, expect to see some large squads participating from Australia, South Africa and Argentina.
That's because the mandatory two-week isolation period that all teams will be required to undertake makes it difficult to fly in replacement players, should they be needed.
The intended six-week Championship schedule is not confirmed.
Argentina and South Africa have said they will bring extended squads while Australia has just named an extended 'players of national interest' squad of 44 players to prepare for the competition.
New Zealand and Australia are the only two countries in the Sanzaar group who have been able to play games since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
New Australian coach Dave Rennie told rugby.com.au said he had increased the number of players in his squad because they won't be able to call on replacements.
"The Africans and Argentinians are keen for huge squads and, from a quarantine perspective, if you get injuries you can't call anyone in. So, they're going to have to be in the bubble already, and [there is] the fact that those guys wouldn't have played an enormous amount of footy either," he said.
"[It's] Just the attrition that can naturally happen from that, so we're aware that we could be taking enlarged squads to New Zealand if The Rugby Championship goes ahead. We need to dig a bit deeper and get a bit of clarity around who we think is next or would benefit from being away for maybe eight weeks in a national squad and from a development perspective."
Development was an important part of Rennie's thinking. He said they were looking at younger players who were strong long-term prospects, some of whom may play for the Wallabies this year.
He said his choice of players in the squad were not a reflection of how sides were performing in the Australian Super Rugby competition.
"It's more around individuals and trying to create a bit of depth and, as I mentioned earlier, learn more about those players.
"We've had a lot of conversations with them and with the support of the Super Rugby coaches, and we've been collecting a lot of data, a lot of off-the-ball stuff that isn't normally coded.
"It's been good for us, but it's not necessarily a document I want plastered around the media because some guys will think they're either in the mix or they're not, but that's not the case.
"We've been talking about two or three boys in the Force, for example, that are not in that list, but we're still looking closely at them," he said.
Rennie said it was shaping that he would have just over two weeks with the side ahead of their first game so the work with his extended squad over the next two months would be important.
It was a different experience as he hadn't coached for six months. But there were people a lot worse off, and they were lucky Super Rugby was playing in Australia.
"There's a lot of good men and we're excited by the challenge and can't wait to get back on the field," he said.