Recently SANZAR announced that in 2016 Super Rugby would be reformatting and adding a 16th, 17th, and 18th team. The 16th side would be the Southern Kings from Port Elizabeth. The 17th side, a team from Argentina. However, for a long time there was much speculation over where the 18th team would be located. Rumors circulated that potential places were the American west coast, Japan and Singapore. SANZAR subsequently announced that Japan and Singapore would be the two bids considere, and they would decide in September or October of this year. Both bids have their merit, as Singapore would have many wealthy investors involved and Japan would provide a massive media market. However Japan, and most likely Tokyo, is the only logical solution that would provide a new sustainable side for the competition.
Super Rugby Expansion: The Case for Japan
Consider the following numbers… Singapore’s current IRB world ranking is 58th out of 102. Japan’s ranking currently sits at 10th, making them the first Asian side to break into the Top 10. They have additionally recently beaten a Tier 1 nation by beating Wales last year. Also, according to the IRB, the number of rugby players in Singapore is 12,430. Singapore is not the biggest of nations, with 5.2 million people, but Fiji a nation of less than one million people has roughly 150,000 players. Countries with more player numbers than Singapore include Malta, Swaziland and Tunisia. Japan on the other hand has 119,598 players. Additionally, Japan’s population is 127.6 million.
Those numbers alone should make SANZAR’s decision incredibly easy, however, there is more to look at.
Earlier this year, Singapore hosted the inaugural World Club 10s tournament in their brand new, and rather stunning, national stadium. It was a world-class event showcasing some of the best sides in the world, however there was one major problem… The stadium was virtually empty. Japan’s main stadium, the Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium, regularly brings in close to capacity crowds, for both Japan matches and big club matches. There were large crowds at recent Pacific Nations Cup matches held there, even when Japan was not playing.
The style of rugby played in Japan is also something to consider.
Japan plays incredibly fast running rugby. There are passes going in every possible direction and runners coming from all over the pitch at every angle. The scrumhalves routinely get the ball out as soon as it is presented. Their style would be in line with what is played throughout the Southern Hemisphere, and would be a pleasure for crowds to watch. Additionally, they have recently proven to be world-class scrummagers, with the addition of former French hooker Marc dal Maso to the national team coaching staff.
Furthermore, Japan has a well-developed professional league that generates a lot of money and has recently drawn the likes of George Smith, George Gregan, and Sonny Bill Williams. The league, despite all its big-money foreigners, has a limit of three non-Japan eligible players in a match day squad. This would provide a solid base of Japanese talent for the side. Anyone concerned with the quality of the Japanese players, should just look at Shota Horie and Fumiaki Tanaka to see that they can make it Super Rugby. On the other hand, Singapore is being looked as a team predominantly made up of players from Pacific Island nations. Very few, if any of the players for the side, would actually come from Singapore.
Critics of making Japan the location for the 18th team say that travel times to the island would be too long for teams, especially the South African sides. There are no direct flights from South Africa to Japan as there are for Singapore, which could be considered a problem. However, Japan could easily be incorporated into the schedule as part of a New Zealand/Australia tour. Additionally, flights to Japan from South Africa are generally cheaper than to Singapore, despite Japan being much further.
Another issue would be what conference the Japanese side would play in. Currently the yet to be announced side will be playing in an African conference. If this remains true, the hopes for the Japanese side being the chosen bid would look slim. To rectify this, SANZAR would have to alter the structure from four conferences to three. The Argentine side would play with the New Zealand conference, the yet to be determined side would play with the Australian conference, and all the African sides would remain together. This additionally would not drastically alter the schedule structure, as a touring system, the same as is in place now, could be used.
The choice seems clear for SANZAR. Japan has more players, a better national side, a good style of rugby, a well-developed domestic competition, and a history of good attendance at rugby events. Additionally, simple changes to the expansion structure would easily silence all critics. Singapore on the other hand, is more of an artificial location, with a weak national side, low playing numbers, and low attendance at big rugby events. There would be big money investors, but the team would not be sustainable. Japan’s team would be. As Japan’s national team head coach, Eddie Jones, recently stated, SANZAR would lose a lot of credibility globally, if they were to not choose Japan as the location for the 18th Super Rugby team.
Numbers provided by the IRB at: http://www.irb.com/mm/Document/AboutIRB/IRBOrganisation/02/07/03/26/irb-dev-glob-map.pdf
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