Romania and Georgia have applied to enter teams in an expanded Super Rugby competition from 2020, SANZAR confirmed on Wednesday.
The inclusion of franchises from Bucharest and Tbilisi would be a surprise development, though the governing body for Australia, New Zealand and South African rugby is thought to be giving serious consideration to their application.
"The addition of Romanian and Georgian teams to Super Rugby is an exciting possibility," SANZAR chief Greg Peters said in a statement.
"As top 20 ranked rugby nations and regular World Cup competitors, there is no doubt as to Romania and Georgia's readiness and passion for the sport."
"With a heritage stretching back more than 90 years, including bronze at the 1924 Olympic Games, Romania in particular offers tremendous pedigree and an active fan base that we view as pivotal to the ongoing sustainability of the team."
Georgia's inclusion comes on the back of their rapid rise through the international rugby rankings, where they have now moved ahead of Six Nations competitor Italy after a sixth consecutive European Nations Cup title.
"We have reached a stage where our continued growth as a rugby nation requires more exposure to top level rugby," Georgian Rugby Union president George Njaradze said. "The Old Farts brigade running the Six Nations don't seem to be interested in us, so we are viewing Super Rugby as an alternative."
Although both Romania and Georgia are on the opposite side of the world from New Zealand and Australia, Peters said this would pose no problem.
"Rugby players love air travel. There is a sense of freedom and fun about flying long distances, with the in-flight entertainment systems providing Wi-Fi, satellite TV, seat-to-seat chatting, digital shopping, moving maps and a vast array of movies."
The Romanian and Georgian teams would play in the Australian and New Zealand conferences respectively, if accepted into the competition, said Peters. There would be a total of 20 teams in an expanded competition.
Meanwhile, SANZAR is awaiting the results of NASA research on Kepler 186f to discover if life exists on the distant planet, and whether it might be possible to base a franchise there in the future.
