Super 15 Becomes Super 18 in 2016 - Who Will Be the 18th Team?

The worst kept secret in Southern Hemisphere rugby is out with Australian and New Zealand Rugby Union bosses confirming that Super Rugby will become an 18-team competition in 2016.

The competition will see the 18 teams split into four conferences with the Australian and New Zealand conferences staying the same while South Africa will have two conferences of 4 teams featuring the 3 expansion teams.

There will be less local derbies - fans love them but the players not so much with the intensity of the games appearing to increase the toll on rugby players and shortening their careers. The season will comprise of 15 round robin games - 1 less than what they play now and possibly not as much travel between South Africa and Australia and New Zealand.

The finals will feature 8 teams at the start - 4 conference winners, the 3 highest ranked teams in Australasia and next highest team in South Africa will feature in the quarterfinals to decide who plays in the semifinals and final.

So the big talking point has to be who will make up the new 3 teams.

The Southern Kings who made their Super Rugby bow last year will return to the competition in 2016 - although they could return a season earlier if they win their relegation/promotion playoff against the last placed South African team this year.

One of the new two teams will be from Argentina - probably based in Buenos Aires given it is Argentina's largest city and where its largest international airport is based.

The 18th team will be selected by a competitive tender with SANZAR bosses keen on an Asian based team.

The only problem is that the Asian based team would have to spend significant flight time - and cost, with South Africa not exactly the cheapest place to fly to - to play in the South African conference, which raises questions of whether an Asian team is actually practical.

Consider this - the flight time between Singapore and Johannesburg is 11 hours - about the same flight time as between Sydney and Johannesburg, the standard trip New Zealand teams have to make right now for their annual trips to South Africa.

Even a European team which is what South African rugby has wanted is not really any more practical - London to Johannesburg also takes 11 hours.

Which really means another thing - could we possibly have a 7th South African team or even another Argentine team?

I think practically that is the best way forward but the question is whether the Australian and New Zealand rugby unions will appreciate South African and Argentine rugby diluted further by both countries having one extra team each.

Could the Pumas be South Africa's 7th Super Rugby franchise?

The Pumas who represent Mpumalanga province and are based in Witbank could have a viable Super Rugby franchise - they do have quite good support from the locals and good attendances.

Los Pumas star Juan Martin Hernandez plays for Racing Metro in France - and earns a lot of money for it.

Rosario or Cordoba in Argentina could be another place for a Super Rugby franchise but it will take quite a bit of effort to convince Argentina's best to cut ties with the lucrative French and English clubs and play for a brand new outfit let alone two.

Watch this space - expect a lot of water to pass under this bridge before 2018.