The new season begins later this week, with Robertson and the NSW Waratahs set to travel to New Zealand to take on the Crusaders in round one.

The Crusaders are the three-time defending premiers and tipped by many as the side to beat again in 2020.

But Dubbo product Robertson, back from an injury-ravaged 2019, can't wait to take on the powerhouse club.

"It's pretty exciting," the prop told the media on Tuesday.

"Obviously they've been the best team in the competition the last three years and it's always good to get them early in the year so you can get that yardstick and reevaluate and see how you're going."

Robertson is more keen than most to test his quality and level of performance early in the year.

After having to undergo a knee reconstruction which ruined his hopes of Wallabies selection for last year's World Cup, an ankle injury which required surgery and then a calf injury virtually made last season a write-off for the Dubbo Kangaroos junior.

"It would be nice to get a whole season," Robertson said.

"I obviously had the knee, the ankle, and then the calf last season so it was a bit disjointed.

"But I'm looking forward to getting some footy this year and it's been a great start. Pre-season has been pretty tough so it's good to see the back-end of that and get into the actual footy side of it.

"I think I played less of 10 games last year so it would be great to get 16 games of Super Rugby and then finals would be awesome."

Last year was not only disappointing for Robertson, but the Waratahs as a whole.

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The Tahs only won six of their regular season matches and missed out on a finals spot.

Coach Daryl Gibson resigned following the dismal campaign but there's plenty of positivity coming from the NSW pre-season run by new mentor Rob Penney.

The Tahs may still be an outsider heading into the new season but Penney's arrival has created a spark at the club and that, combined with time representing NSW Country and the chance to work on a research project late last year, has Robertson filled with motivation.

Robertson was back around the NSW Country Eagles during the 2019 National Rugby Championships and while he wasn't available to play in the round one clash at Dubbo's Apex Oval, he still made the trip to his home town.

The prop not only got to provide valuable experience for the Eagles forward pack and help them impress in a 38-33 win over Sydney, but he also got to run a clinic with Roos juniors and spend time with family.

Robertson, who's played 24 tests for the Wallabies, returned in the later rounds of the competition to begin his build-up to the 2020 season early on.

"It's always awesome playing for Country," he said.

"I'm from Dubbo so it's always good playing in the NRC. I had a lot of fun and got to play some good footy as well.

"I came back from it and did my calf though so it was a bit of a spanner in the works.

"But I'd had ankle surgery before the NRC so it was good to come back and get some confidence in the ankle and now I'm good to go the calf is healed."

Robertson has deferred his degree but he also spent much of his rehabilitation time working on a research project he's undertaking as part of a masters of philosophy with a major in medicine.

The Waratahs take on the Crusaders from 5.05pm (AEDT) in Saturday's opening round fixture.