Should Super Rugby be looking to the land of the rising sun for a solution after Melbourne Rebels' demise?

06/12/2024 12:20 PM

As doom has engulfed the Rebels, there is plenty of talk of what is to come next in Super Rugby.

I feel that Japanese rugby is rising and rumours are that a Japanese entry is on the cards for 2026.

Although the demise of the Rebels is a sad story, and there are many in Melbourne (including myself) who will miss a professional rugby presence in Victoria, it can also be a time to reflect and build a vision for the future.

Japanese Rugby, particularly at the club level, is growing fast. Players from the best Test sides are flocking to the cashed-up clubs owned by huge companies such as Toyota and Suntory.

Some of the best coaching minds in the game have been allured by Ramen, Onsens and of course the Japanese Yen. The quality of rugby is improving, and the world is starting to notice.

A vision for Super Rugby in 2026 includes the entry of an existing Japanese team into Super Rugby.

An established team with an established fanbase can challenge the best teams in their first year of the competition.

That is the key. The Sunwolves failed because they were woefully unsuccessful, had no connection to Australia, New Zealand or South Africa and no one even really knew where they were from.

The same mistake shouldn't be made again.

The URC (formally the Celtic League) has exploded partly because the Stormers won it in their first year, the South Africans were hooked, and the Irish wanted revenge.

As a result, the competition now has global relevance, and some are saying it could be the best club competition in the world. A new Japanese Super Rugby team needs to have that kind of impact.

Connection to a new Japanese team should be driven by key signings of Australian and New Zealand players who are currently based overseas.

Could Will Skelton, whose contract ends in 2025, be lured to Japan and given the opportunity to compete in Super Rugby again, without Rugby Australia having to foot the bill?

Perhaps RA can play a trump card to get our best overseas-based players back into Super Rugby by making them eligible for the Wallabies if they play for the Japanese club.

It answers the biggest question for the Wallabies and Super Rugby, how do we get our best players back when we can't afford them?

This could be a massive coup for Australian Rugby leading into a home World Cup.

The Japanese team could also capture players currently in Australia who are looking overseas. Would time in an onsen be the reset that Taniela Tupou needs to reach his potential?

The cash that would be freed up by letting him go to Japan would also benefit a financially struggling Rugby Australia.

The star power these players bring would ignite interest in that team, especially if they are playing alongside World Cup-winning Springboks and some handy All Blacks such as Cheslin Kolbe, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Beauden Barrett.

Some might say that this might further dilute our playing stocks in Australia, but the goal would be to get players who have already left or are going to leave because we can't afford them.

At least this way RA have control of where they are playing, without bankrupting themselves to keep them.

It also gives the team relevance when travelling to Australia. Sydney siders would see the prodigal son Skelton return only with Sungoliath or Toyota Verblitz on his chest.

Queenslanders could catch Tupou coming up against the best young Queensland props. Sprinkle in Cheslin Kolbe on the wing in the case of Sungoliath or Beauden Barret for Toyota and you have a team with real star power.

The question remains whether Japan Rugby would come to the table. The beauty is, they are already halfway there.

A memorandum of understanding is already signed between the NZRFU and the JRFU, and between RA and the JRFU.

Japan Rugby wants to become a force in the world, raising both their domestic competition and their national side in international standings. They see Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific as their pathway to do this.

Despite what some may say, Super Rugby is still an elite competition that can match it with the best in the world.

Japanese clubs know this and that is why they have started playing more off-season games against our clubs and are keenly interested in our players.

Joining Super Rugby gives their players the opportunity to play with and against some of the best players in the world.

Would this alone be enough to draw them into Super Rugby? Talk of Japan entering The Rugby Championship has been ongoing for years, and they are enthusiastic about joining.

Their entry could be made contingent on them supporting a Super Rugby team, all but guaranteeing support indefinitely.

Unfortunately, SANZAAR did not approve their application to join in 2026. Typically, the reasoning behind this decision is opaque.

It's not clear whether the governing body would see the benefits of a Japanese Super Rugby club, given their distance from Super Rugby currently.

But it’s not out of the question that South Africa and Argentina would profit from having some of their players in Super Rugby, getting regular experience against Australian and New Zealand opposition.

Of course, finances, schedules and interests all must align for this proposition to eventuate.

However, at this time of turmoil, it is a vision that Super Rugby needs.

A vision of a truly Pacific Super Rugby, of considered expansion into new markets that are hungry for competitive rugby and of a new team, filled with stars, ready to compete.