Rugby Australia officials are locked in preliminary discussions with their Argentinian counterparts about the prospect of setting up tour matches ahead of the four-nation tournament.

Games against a Super Rugby side and an Australia A team are being explored, with Brumbies chief Phil Thomson saying the club would relish a chance to pit themselves against Argentina, although discussions are yet to open with the Super Rugby AU powerhouse.

Rugby Australia chief Rob Clarke says the Rugby Championship shapes as a "mini World Cup" which could breathe life back into the game down under.

Australia will host the tournament over six weeks in November and December, with five rounds in NSW and one in Brisbane. Sydney Olympic Park, Western Sydney Stadium and Newcastle have emerged as the front-runners for hosting rights in NSW.

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Argentina, who remain committed to playing despite players testing positive to coronavirus, are keen to find warm-up games.

"We're possibly looking at a couple of games against an Australia A team and one of the Super Rugby clubs," Clarke said.

"At this point in time that's what we're looking to deliver for Argentina which is more than satisfactory to them. It will also enable us to showcase some of our emerging talent. We're still working on those plans. We'll get close to those in the coming weeks.

"That's being discussed now. Argentina unfortunately have not been able to play any rugby, so those matches will be really important.

"I believe South Africa are looking at getting a domestic competition up and running in the coming weeks, so they believe they're going to have some lead-in games before they travel."

The Wallabies and All Blacks will play two Bledisloe Cup Tests in New Zealand preceding the tournament in October.

The four teams will boast expanded squads of 46 players and set themselves up in bubbles for the duration of the tournament, from which the four countries will pool expenses and share profits.

"It's an enormous opportunity to be able to play Test match rugby with four of the top global Test unions in a competition format over a six-week period," Clarke said.

"It's a time of year where it's not traditional to play rugby but a time of year where there's not a lot of other content to compete with, it's a fantastic opportunity for our game.

"I'm delighted ... It's going to be the equivalent of a mini World Cup, played over six weeks and you couldn't get a better finish to the year with world-class rugby.

"It's very much an all-hands-in-the-middle where all expenses will be pooled and revenue pooled and then a profit share will be split amongst the SANZAAR partners equally."