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. It means rugby fans in Singapore could see the likes of fullback Ayumu Goromaru, fly-half Harumichi Tatekawa, flanker and No 8 Amanaki Lelei Mafi in action at the Singapore Sports Hub’s National Stadium as the Japanese will play three home matches here against the Cheetahs (Round 3), Bulls (Round 5) and Stormers (Round 12).
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“We are in the envious position to be delivering our great brand of rugby to new cities and worldwide markets, unlocking a host of commercial opportunities and delivering the unbridled excitement of Super Rugby to a legion of new and existing fans”.
The expansion has seen the tournament divided into four conferences rather than the traditional three.
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.
Rivalries don’t come any bigger than that between Australian Rugby’s oldest foes, the NSW Waratahs and Queensland Reds, who square off twice in the opening month of the season.
They play either home or away against the teams in the other African pool and their programme is completed by matches against all the teams from either the Australian or New Zealand conference.
The season begins on Friday, February 26 with the Blues hosting the Highlanders, after which the Brumbies will take on the Hurricanes at Canberra that same night.
Argentina will also field a side for the first time and will take on the Cheetahs and Sharks in the first two rounds in South Africa, before a bye in round three and then a historic first home game against the Chiefs on March 19.
Morris said officials would continue to work hard to ensure Super Rugby was “the best provincial rugby competition in the world”.
“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 was excited about what the draw will offer Australian rugby supporters.
“We look forward to when our Australian teams visit the Japanese team in Tokyo and will be watching with keen interest when the Argentinians make their entry into the competition”.
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Pulver believed Australian teams would again challenge for the title.
