RugbyRebels

It looks like the JRFU has a few boardmembers who are quite jazzed about the performance of the Brave Blossoms at the World Cup, and the explosion in popularity in the sport, who are now willing to renegotiate terms to keep the team in Super Rugby going forward.

There has also been talk of getting Japan into the Rugby Championship. Currently, they are roughly where Argentina were in 2007 - can potentially tip over more fancied teams (they've now defeated 7 of the 10 teams involved in the 6 Nations and Rugby Champs, with just England, Australia and the All Blacks left to beat), but are starved of regular competition because they're the 800-pound silverback gorillas of their region.

I'd say that Japan needs to be in the Rugby Championship, but they're probably better staying out of Super Rugby. They've got a real chance to set up a fully professional, self-sustaining league that could become the equal of any other world league; I don't think they should give that up in order to have one team on the edge of your table.

Puja

I think one of the issues is that because of the corporatised nature of the Top League, there may be some friction against keeping the Sunwolves going. The people with a stake in it may not appreciate the perception that it's a devalued competition if the Sunwolves were to be kept as a Top League all-stars side. It's also a matter of record that the existence of the Sunwolves was a huge boost to the Japanese team, who used their B-side as an extended training camp, and occasionally sending a few of his lads to the main team to get some valuable game time against All Blacks, Pumas, Wallabies and Springboks.

It also provides a good testing ground for the Michael Littles and Lappies Labuschagnes of the world, who get a chance to play at a high level more consistently then they were able to in their home countries, and it opens up a pathway to test rugby for them.

I'm sure there'd be some, like our dear unlamented rowan who'd have demanded that there be a PI team included, and I'm sure that'd also be a boon to them, but considering how Trumpian levels of corruption has brought those teams to their knees, I wouldn't want any of those administrators getting even more money to line their own pockets with, while the teams limp from fixture to fixture, held together with silly string and false hopes.