SANZAR today formally confirmed that Japan and Argentina would enter teams into Super Rugby from 2016, with the competition expanding to 18 teams.

The confirmation now allows the new franchises from Tokyo and Buenos Aires to begin their search for players and other staff to contract from 2016 onwards.

SANZAR Chief Executive Greg Peters said, “It gives me great pleasure to welcome the JRFU and UAR who will join the Kings from South Africa as Super Rugby prepares to expand into a bold and exciting new era.

“As top ten ranked rugby nations with established high performance level leagues and over 100,000 players each, there is no doubt as to Japan and Argentina’s rugby readiness and passion for the sport.

“With a heritage stretching back some 115 years, Japan also offers tremendous infrastructure and an active fan base that we view as pivotal to the ongoing sustainability of the team.

“Japan has also been the focus of strategic investment by the International Rugby Board (now World Rugby) and we view the region as a high growth, high potential sports and economic market with the 2019 Rugby World Cup, the 2020 Olympic Games and now Super Rugby on the imminent horizon.”

The JRFU has forged a relationship with the Singapore Rugby Union and Singapore Sports Hub that will see the state-of-the-art venue host three games per year, delivering Super Rugby to new Asian audiences.

Both the Japanese and Argentinean teams will play in the South African section of the tournament and will be positioned in different conferences. The final composition of these conferences are subject to approval by SARU’s General Council. You can read how the new conference system will work here.

Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images