Argentina, Japan to enter Super Rugby comp next year

The season will kick off with a double-header on February 26 in which the Highlanders will begin their title defence in Auckland while in Australia, the ACT Brumbies will host the Wellington Hurricanes.

Australian fans will be treated early in the tournament with the Brumbies hosting the first match on home soil against the Hurricanes, while rivals Waratahs and Reds will open their season with a round 1 battle in Sydney.

The Waratahs’ two longest trips are for round 10 when they fly to Cape Town, South Africa to play the Stormers to be by coached by Eddie Jones on April 30, and round 15 against the new Japanese side in Tokyo at Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium on July 2.

The playing of matches here was part of an agreement made by the Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU) when it clinched a spot in the Super 18s.

The “new era” in Super Rugby will see an expanded 18-team competition featuring four conferences, with some games to be played in Tokyo and Singapore and a new chrome and gold-plated trophy for the victor, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia Rugby (SANZAR) interim chief Brendan Morris said.

The expanded conference will now see 135 matches with each team play six matches in their own conference, five against an Australasian conference, and four against a South African conference and will have two byes across the 17-week regular season. The 13.5 kilogram chrome and gold plated piece captures the prestige, grandeur and resilience of one of the world’s pre-eminent sporting competitions.

Pulver was excited about what the draw will offer Australian rugby supporters.

“We’ll be rebuilding after Rugby World Cup so there’ll be huge opportunities for a whole new generation of exciting young talent to show their wares and press for All Blacks places”.

“As successful as our competition has been in the past, we can not rest on our laurels”.

“We know there is an enormous appetite for the game in Japan with an estimated 20 million Japanese fans tuning in to the Rugby World Cup so far, spurred on by the national team’s stunning upset of South Africa”, Pulver said on Monday.

Sorensen said 2016 would provide plenty of fresh fuel for fans of New Zealand teams.

Brumbies to host seven-time champions Crusaders in a special Sunday afternoon ANZAC weekend clash in Canberra.

“When you look across the board at the Australian teams, every one of our teams at full strength can make a strong push for the finals”.

The existing ten Australasian teams will be divided into New Zealand and Australian pools.