The ACT Brumbies are prepared for an energy-sapping test and expect to shed at least 4 kilograms each when they play their first trial match in muggy Darwin weather tonight.
New coach Jake White will get his first real glimpse of the squad's potential when the Brumbies take on the Western Force at Rugby Park in the Northern Territory.
Despite the high humidity and draining conditions, White wants the Brumbies to play with full intensity to gauge how they are placed 20 days out from the start of the Super Rugby season.
Players usually lose 2kg after each game, largely due to reduced water mass.
But with humidity likely to be more than 80per cent, the Brumbies could lose almost double what they would after games during the season.
To combat the weather, the Brumbies will use ice baths at half-time and use sports drink slushies to lower their core body temperatures.
No.8 Ben Mowen played in the Australian Schoolboys championships in Darwin in 2001.
The Brumbies recruit warned his teammates they would be physically exhausted after the 80-minute contest.
''There is obviously a huge focus on nutrition in and around the game and we'll be doing the ice baths, which are things you don't normally do,'' Mowen said.
''You can't always negate the effects of dehydration, but you can put some things in place to try to minimise it and that's what we've done.
''The day after the game you probably notice it the most and if the heat is right up, we'll be in for a really tough night.''
White will not reveal his full squad until two hours before kick-off tonight.
He is keen to use most of his players and test his new brigade against the Force.
While the Brumbies are expected to be near full-strength, the Force has rested stars David Pocock and Nathan Sharpe.
The Brumbies concede it will take a few matches to find the right combinations.
During the trial, White will test the combinations he wants to use in the opening round of the season on February24.
And if they fail to deliver results, he has two more trial matches to tinker with his line-up.
Mowen insisted the Brumbies would not hold back in their first serious hit-out as a team, declaring the trial meant more to the Brumbies than the Force. Traditionally, the Brumbies have struggled in trial matches because the bulk of their squad was made up of Wallabies easing themselves back into action after international duties.
But White has had his team training since July with Stephen Moore, Ben Alexander and Pat McCabe as the only Wallabies in the 35-man squad.
''As a group, whether it's a trial or not, we're pretty determined to win,'' Mowen said.
''[The Force] have the luxury to approach it differently, they've had a reasonably stable squad while half of our team is new this year.
''It's probably less important for them and more important to us. There are some guys who are quite nervous and excited.
''As a group we have to convert our work into results and the first opportunity to do that is [tonight].''
Winger Tom Cox will get his chance to show his blistering speed and the 23-year-old wants to stake his claim for a spot in the starting XV.
''Super Rugby has always been the goal ... I've done a lot of work strength-wise and I'm seeing the benefits now,'' Cox said.
''I have put on a few kilograms and lost a bit of fat, I've gone up to 88kg. I think everyone is going to be playing pretty hard [tonight] and gunning for positions.''
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