SANZAR has announced the 2016 Super Rugby draw with four conferences, three new teams, two new countries and a brand new trophy.

SANZAR unveil new Super Rugby trophy © SANZAR (Image Supplied)

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Kicking off on Friday 26 February, the tournament opens with a blockbuster opening weekend with three of last year's four semi-finalists meeting, before Japan host their first ever Super Rugby match as they take on the Lions in Tokyo. Argentina will also take part in the opening round with the first match on the road against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.

Singapore will get a chance to play a part in the tournament with Japan hosting three of their home matches against Cheetahs (Round 3), the Bulls (Round 5) and the Stormers (Round 12) at Singapore National Park; while the locations of Argentina's home games are yet to be announced.

The release of the draw also sees the confirmation of the South African conferences, with the first conference group containing the Bulls, Cheetahs, Stormers and the newly formed Japanese side, while the Kings, Lions, Sharks and Argentinian side will make up the second conference group.

The expanded conference will now see 135 matches with each team playing six matches in their own conference, five against an Australasian conference, and four against a South African conference and will have two byes across the 17-week regular season.

Australian fans will be treated early in the tournament with the Brumbies hosting the first match on home soil against the Hurricanes, while rivals Waratahs and Reds will open their season with a round 1 battle in Sydney.

They won't have to wait long to get a taste of their new Japanese foe with the Rebels the first Australian side to take on the new side at Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium in Round 4, before the Force (Round 11) and Waratahs (Round 15) travel to Japan. Japan will make their first trip to Australia to take on the Reds (Round 13) and Brumbies (Round 14) on back-to-back weekends in May.

The identity of the Argentinean and Japanese-based sides will be formally unveiled by their respective unions once the Rugby World Cup is complete.