The ACT Brumbies captain will join Matatu, a franchise run by the Canterbury Crusaders, for New Zealand's inaugural Super Rugby Aupiki season next year. The four-team competition is rounded out by the Auckland Blues, Waikato Chiefs and Wellington Hurricanes.

Leonard will miss the first half of the Brumbies' Super W tilt but the star lock goes with the club's blessing in the hope it can take her game to the next level.

She will leave for New Zealand in February to kick off a hectic calendar that starts with Super Rugby Aupiki and rolls into Super W, Wallaroos Tests and the World Cup.

"It's really exciting to look ahead and see how much time of this year could potentially just be spent being an athlete if I play my cards right and put my best performance out there," Leonard said.

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"I'd seen a few advertisements on social media from clubs over in France looking for locks to come over for the season starting at the end of this year.

"I'd forwarded it on to Peter Breen who was acting head coach of the Wallaroos at the time, asking for his opinion and what he thinks of those opportunities and experiences. He came back to me and said 'look, I might have something else for you that is just as good, if not better'.

"From there he put me in touch with head coach Blair [Baxter] over at Matatu and the CEO of the Crusaders. We set up some chats from there and one thing led to another.

"Super exciting, very nerve-racking, but I think it's going to be a great experience to play against and play with some of the best players in the world in the women's XVs space at the moment."

A draft calendar from Rugby Australia included Super W, which will revert to a six-week season, and up to five Tests leading into a World Cup which Wallaroos coach Jay Tregonning "absolutely" believes Australia can win for the first time in history.

New Zealand has won five of the past six World Cups, which goes some way to describing why Leonard and reigning Super W player of the year Arabella McKenzie are taking a chance to test themselves in the domestic landscape with Matatu.

"New Zealand is No. 2 in the women's space for a reason. A lot of them grow up with the game, they know the game well over there and they play it well," Leonard said.

"Going in and training with Black Ferns players, and being coached by some really experienced support staff, it's going to develop skills. It's going to help me learn to play the game and see the game in a different light, and a different style of play to what I might be used to as well.

"Any pearls and tips you can get from different directions, it's only going to all contribute to the bigger picture."

Leonard's absence for the opening half of the Super W competition means Brumbies coach Dan Hawke will be on the hunt for a new captain to lead his side.

But there was never any chance Hawke or program manager Tony Abel were going to stand in Leonard's way as she chases an opportunity to develop.

"They both encouraged me to take it with both hands because it's a new opportunity and it's a big one," Leonard said.

"They know us as players and as people, and they know how hard we work for what we do, and how great this opportunity is.

"You've got to take some of these moments to develop yourself, and I think they're thinking I'll come back a better player when I come back to Brums."

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