Melbourne Rebels first Australian club to face new Japanese Super Rugby side

The Japanese team will play their first game against the Lions on February 27 in Tokyo.

Defending champions the Otago Highlanders kick-off the season on February 26 away to the Auckland Blues before the ACT Brumbies host the Wellington Hurricanes on an opening night involving three of last year’s four semi-finalists.

Singapore will get a chance to play a part in the tournament with Japan hosting three of their home matches against Cheetahs (Round 3), the Bulls (Round 5) and the Stormers (Round 12) at Singapore National Park; while the locations of Argentina’s home games are yet to be announced.

The regular season will be followed by a knockout Asteron Life Super Rugby Finals Series featuring eight teams; the four conference winners plus the three next highest-ranked teams from the Australasian Group and the next highest-ranked team from the South African Group.

SANZAR has confirmed the full 18-team Super Rugby draw for 2016, which includes the new Japanese franchise.

With the restructured competition, Australian teams will play six matches in their conference, five in New Zealand’s and four in one of the two South African conferences of which the Japanese team is in one and Argentinian is in the other.

Rebels to make historic Round 4 visit to Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium in Tokyo to become the first Aussie opponents for the new Japanese team.

The 18 Super Rugby teams will also be playing for a new trophy that will be won by one of the teams on Saturday the 6th of August in the 142nd match of the season.

“We are in the envious position to be delivering our great brand of rugby to new cities and global markets, unlocking a host of commercial opportunities and delivering the unbridled excitement of Super Rugby to a legion of new and existing fans”, he said.

Australian Rugby’s oldest rivalry continues when the NSW Waratahs host the Queensland Reds in an opening-round blockbuster in Sydney.

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

“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”.

The body said details would also come in due course on the new Argentinean team, who kick-off their campaign in Bloemfontein against the Cheetahs, as the tournament expands from 15 to 18 sides.

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

After the gruelling global trip early in the season, the Chiefs will return to New Zealand to face the Force on March 26.

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

Pulver believed Australian teams would again challenge for the title.