{"id":462781,"date":"2026-06-05T18:42:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T18:42:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/462781\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T18:42:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T18:42:26","slug":"sanzaar-revisit-rugby-championship-expansion-decision-with-fiji-and-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/462781\/","title":{"rendered":"SANZAAR revisit Rugby Championship expansion decision with Fiji and Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Japan and Fiji could join the Rugby Championship at some point, SA Rugby president Mark Alexander has confirmed.<\/p>\n

The tournament\u2019s last expansion was back in 2012 when Argentina were added to the then Tri Nations, linking up with Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.<\/p>\n

For years, it has been suggested that the next expansion should include Japan and Fiji, particularly after their strong performances in recent Rugby World Cups, but there has been little movement in that regard.<\/p>\n

Reports after the 2023 Rugby World Cup stated that both nations had launched bids and entered talks with SANZAAR to join the Rugby Championship by 2026, but those applications were ultimately rejected.<\/p>\n

Expansion in the pipeline<\/p>\n

However, Alexander<\/a> says that SANZAAR is still considering including the two nations but was wary of talking out of school. In an interview with The Australian, the bigwig suggested that the Brave Blossoms and Flying Fijians could be phased into the competition through their youth teams.<\/p>\n

Once that is trailed, a decision on taking the bigger leap and permanently including the two nations could be made.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook, Fiji and Japan might [be added],\u201d he said<\/a>. \u201cI don\u2019t want to talk out of school. We\u2019ve got a meeting coming up. I think we must start at the lower level.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe stepping stone for us, for Japan and Fiji, is to include (their) under-20 teams in the (age-group) competition, which is less onerous. It\u2019s one trip to Africa currently because we\u2019ve got a (under-20s) tournament for three years. And we play six teams in the competition, and that will be the start.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fiji and Japan will both feature in the inaugural Nations Championship<\/a> next month and including them in the Rugby Championship<\/a> would be a natural move considering that all of the northern hemisphere teams included feature in the Six Nations.<\/p>\n

With South Africa, New Zealand, Argentina and Australia signing a commitment through to 2030, any Rugby Championship expansion may likely have to wait until then. The governing body confirmed the commitment in October last year, which included their international rugby calendar through to 2030.<\/p>\n

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No changes anytime soon<\/p>\n

Included in that announcement was the confirmation of Rugby\u2019s Greatest Rivalry tour, which will debut in South Africa this year with the All Blacks touring the republic. A full Rugby Championship will also take place next year before the Rugby World Cup, with the Springboks touring New Zealand in 2030.<\/p>\n

\u201cLooking ahead, our joint venture is committed to driving the next chapter of southern hemisphere rugby,\u201d SANZAAR CEO Brendan Morris said at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy collaborating closely with our Unions and valued broadcasting and commercial partners, we\u2019ve developed an innovative calendar designed to deliver thrilling rugby experiences and set new benchmarks for the game in the years to come.<\/p>\n

Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as\u00a0a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a>\u00a0for world-class coverage you can trust.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis new calendar for Southern Hemisphere rugby is all about bringing to the fans the highest level of world class rugby and action. Indeed, after listening to what supporters, broadcasters and our stakeholders want, we\u2019ve worked with the Unions to craft a bold and dynamic schedule designed to deliver unforgettable moments every year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether you\u2019re cheering at the ground or watching at home, get ready for an era of electrifying matches, fierce rivalries, and world-class rugby experiences that put our passionate supporters front and centre. It\u2019s a new dawn for southern hemisphere rugby, and we can\u2019t wait for our fans to be part of this exciting journey.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe future of southern hemisphere rugby is brighter than ever. Our member unions have a proud record on the international stage and SANZAAR believes this new calendar will assist in strengthening this record, while delivering to the fans unparalleled excitement and access to the world\u2019s best rugby.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE:\u00a0World Rugby confirm match officials for July\u2019s Nations Championship matches: Ben O\u2019Keeffe and Nic Berry get two Tests<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Japan and Fiji could join the Rugby Championship at some point, SA Rugby president Mark Alexander has confirmed.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":462782,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,2566,1463,1464,1759,234576,111,43,139,69,1465,1466,213],"class_list":["post-462781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-australia","tag-fiji","tag-home-page","tag-internationals","tag-japan","tag-mark-alexander","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-rugby-championship","tag-south-africa","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=462781"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462781\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/462782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=462781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=462781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=462781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}