SUPER 18 KICKS OFF IN ONE WEEK

Back in the 80's it started as Super 6, and then in the 90's once SA was re-admitted to World Rugby following apartheid, it became Super 10, and when game went pro in 1995 and SANZAR was formed, it increased to Super 12. In 2011 it became Super 15, once the Rebels were born, and now in 2016, it has become Super 18. This year they have added the Kings from SA, Jaguares from Argentina and Sunwolves from Japan.

2 Groups, 4 Leagues, 18 Teams

The first rugby franchise in Argentina will certainly mean less Argentinians playing in France or England, and it will be interesting to see how strong the Japanese franchise is, as Japan already has a well structured Premiership like in England. Like with Glasgow, where the team sometimes resembles the national Scotland side, the Argentinian and Japanese franchises could be very competitive if they can attract a large number of current or former internationals, keen to play high standard rugby together week in week out.

You definitely need an MBA to understand the format, and plenty of Pro Plus to survive its full length through to August 2016, with a month off in June for Northern hemisphere tours. Anyway, the rugby is a lot less structured and more open than Premiership and Pro 12, and conditions are normally dry, which makes for more tries and more entertaining  games. So, why not adopt a Super 18 team and get watching on Sky - my team, the Highlanders, have been dross for years, but won it comfortably last year, so they are the team to beat!

Fixtures can be found here

Confused.com part 1

Confused.com part 2