HONG KONG: The new chief of southern hemisphere rugby Wednesday said he's confident Japan's Sunwolves will take part in the expanded Super Rugby tournament -- even though the newcomers are yet to appoint a coach.
SANZAR chief executive Andy Marinos said the Sunwolves were likely to name a head coach within the next fortnight, adding they had already contracted a "core group" group of 24-25 Japanese players.
However, with just three months before the Super Rugby season is due to kick off, Marinos admitted uncertainty remained over how both the Sunwolves and the South Africa's embattled Southern Kings would fare.
The Southern Kings are re-entering the competition but have suffered high-profile financial difficulties, forcing the South African Rugby Union to step in and take control of the franchise.
"With the Kings and Japan it's a hell of a lot of the unknown," Marinos, who was appointed this week, told journalists on a teleconference. "How are they going to adapt to the travel, to the schedule?
"But saying that, I've learned one thing in rugby -- you can never start writing off teams before the competition actually properly gets underway."
Marinos said the "biggest challenge" for the Sunwolves had been finding a head coach. Former Japan coach Eddie Jones had been lined up for the role but walked away before the World Cup.
"There's a number of players that are obviously waiting to understand who that coach is before they commit," he said.
Japan is currently experiencing a flurry of interest in the sport following the Brave Blossoms' best ever World Cup, including their shock win over South Africa.
The "new era" in Super Rugby will see an expanded 18-team competition featuring four conferences, with some games to be played in Tokyo and Singapore.
The expanded tournament will also play host to a new team from Argentina, which is yet to be named.
Marinos added that in the future, the competition could grow further still to take in teams from Pacific countries and even North America.
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