The first edition of Look Who’s Talking Now for February sees Super Rugby inch tantalisingly closer, and at the time of writing two Australian Super Rugby sides have played their opening pre-season fixtures (Rebels and Western Force), with the remaining three teams all in action this Saturday.

Click here to see live-stream details for Reds vs. Crusaders, kick off at 6:30pm AEDT on Saturday.

Click here to see live-stream details for Brumbies vs. Waratahs, kick off at 6:50pm AEDT On Saturday.

The biggest news of this week was the confirmation from governing body SANZAAR (note the extra A) that they were making amendments to the Super Rugby bonus point system, as one of two law variations.

Western Force Captain Matt Hodgson welcomed the change, based on the French Top 14 league, telling Dale Granger that the system should encourage teams to keep attacking for the full 80 minutes and make for a more entertaining contest towards the end of matches.

“It will likely mean teams will have to defend for longer periods even when they have scored four tries or more. ­Attack-orientated teams… are likely to look more closely at bringing more of a defensive ­element into their game,” Hodgson said.

“I think it will work in our favour this year because we are looking at playing a more ­expansive style, albeit still with a strong defensive element; the way we are expanding our ­attack mindset this year allied with our strong defensive focus is perfectly suited for us to put scores on the board and not let rivals score again.”

Hodgson’s teammate Rory Walton, meanwhile, has a big year ahead of him at the Western Force as he looks to stake a claim for a regular spot in the matchday 23 following the departure of fellow locks Sam Wykes and Wilhelm Steenkamp.

“I feel for me that making the match day 23 is a good goal,” he told Western Force Media Manager David Berrie. “I’ve been in the system long enough now where I expect that of myself, and falling short of that obviously would be disappointing. It’s something that I’m definitely pretty driven to achieve to prove that I can compete at this level.”

Fellow lock Cadeyrn Neville stepped up to the plate for media duties at his new Club this week and explained to the Courier Mail’s Jim Tucker why he recently sought out new Reds U20s coach Brad Thorn for advice.

“Brad put it back on me straight away when he asked me what sort of footballer I wanted to be,” Neville said of meeting the respected 2011 Rugby World Cup-winner. “I want to be a player who has a big, physical presence around the field; that, and consistency, are areas I’m really working at.

“I’ve stripped things back to improve things like shoulder strength and balance to make better contact when tackling. Attitude is a big part of aggression, as Brad said, and you always want to be influencing situations on the field.”

To the Nation’s capital, where one favourite son has returned after a stint away as another prepares for the reality of spending more than half of the season away from his Brumbies teammates.

Ruan Smith has just arrived back in Australia after spending the off-season in Japan with Toyota Verblitz, his first time playing in the Top League on the back of playing all eighteen of the Brumbies’ matches in 2015.

“One of the reasons I went to Japan was to mentally refresh a bit,” Smith told the Club’s official website. “Obviously it wasn’t long, but after three years of doing the same things, doing something different is nice. Having different coaching techniques and different approaches to things was really refreshing… (and) it also made me a lot more excited to come back here to the Brumbies.

“I’ve also been lucky to be in a situation where I’ve missed all the running in pre-season,” he continued. “Playing more Rugby is what we like to do so I’m happy with that. I think some the boys are a bit jealous but I’m not complaining!”

Ruan’s late arrival means he won’t get to spend much time with teammate Henry Speight, as the Brumbies star will switch his focus to the Australian Rugby Sevens program after the first five games of the season.

"It was very tough to make the choice, and the reality is hitting me that I won't be playing as many games as I would like for the Brumbies," Speight told Canberra Times’ Chris Dutton. "I'm in contact with the boys every day ... I'm still a part of the Brumbies squad for 2016 and that's all that matters to me.”

Speight’s fellow Wallaby Paddy Ryan spoke to Rugby.com.au’s Beth Newman about the changing faces around Waratah-land following the high-profile departures of Sekope Kepu, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Jacques Potgieter and Stephen Hoiles.

“Internally being a part of the team doesn’t actually feel like there’s a lot of new faces around,” he said. “It doesn’t feel like the pack’s changed that much; although we have lost a lot of senior players, we’ve had a good addition in Angus Ta’avao coming across from the Blues and we’ve had young blokes come through from the U20s with Tom Robertson and Matt Sandell stepping up.”

All Black Adam Thomson has arrived at his new home, having moved from the Reds to the Rebels via Canon Eagles in Japan’s Top League. While he is one of the most experienced and well credentialed players in a young Rebels squad, Thomson is determined to ensure it is his actions that do the talking in Melbourne this year.

“It’s not about what you say, it’s about your actions,” Thomson told the Club’s website. “The best way I can do that is to get out there and train hard, hopefully win an opportunity and give 100 per cent.

“If I can perform and have that rub off (on the younger players) and get a team performance then that’s the way we’ll do it. I’ve had a long career and still enjoy what I do, so I want to come here and play as well as I can.”

Another International star at a new franchise is Brumbies’ Argentinian scrumhalf Tomas Cubelli. He’s working closely with Matt Toomua in Canberra, and looking forward to his first match for his new Club on Saturday.

“It’s been really comfortable settling in,” he told Beth Newman. “I’ve been training hard, working hard, running a lot so I want to go on to the field and have fun.

“We (Toomua and I) have been training together this last week and he’s a great player so it makes things easy. He’s very good with me like explaining the plays and what he wants so I think I’m thankful to Matt and he will be pleasure to work alongside.”

He’ll be lining up against the Waratahs and David Horwitz in Wagga Wagga tomorrow, with the youngster keen to make the most of the opportunity extended by the absence of many of the ‘Tahs Wallaby heroes.

“It’s (our backline) obviously ridiculously talented, we’ve got a Wallaby in every position,” he told Rugby.com.au. “It's really tough, but it's a good challenge and there’s no better way to learn. I find I learn a lot more off Kurtley Beale everyday than I do from the coaches so I’m really lucky to have those guys in front of me.”

And finally we do a full 360 and head back West, where Western Force recruit Semisi Masirewa was a stand-out on debut against the Hurricanes on Thursday night, clearly enjoying the experience as his side won 28-0.

Speaking with Fraser Smith, Masirewa said “I had a lot of fun out there and I think a team performance like that was the perfect way to kick-off 2016 looking towards the (Asteron Life) Super Rugby season.

“For a few of us it was our first time playing a real game together but with the chemistry we have built up at training it all worked pretty smoothly and helps us learn for next time. We have some real talent in our outside backs and we are really trying to use those strengths by getting the ball out wide and putting guys into space. Obviously it was far from perfect and we have some work to do before our next trial game and the start of the season, but I was pleased with what the boys put out yesterday.”

The old saying ‘start as you mean to finish’ bodes well in this instance for the Western Force.

Social Supremo:

It’s Sydney Sevens this weekend, with the sold-out showcase at Allianz Stadium pitting the likes of Sonny-Bill Williams and Augustine Pulu against Henry Speight, Ed Jenkins, Cam Clark and co after Australia and New Zealand were drawn in the same group.

The Australian Womens team will also be in action, however, playing three matches against Ireland across the weekend, and one special spectator is Ellia Green’s mum!

As you may recall, the Australian Womens Rugby Sevens team released a 2016 calendar late last year, raising valuable funds for the Cancer Council, as Green’s mum battled lung cancer; no doubt the whole squade, not just Ellia, will be keen to show (mum) Yolanta what they’re capable of against the Irish!