Sanzar yesterday officially welcomed Japan and Argentina into the Super rugby fold, but questions around the expanded competition's competitive integrity are likely to linger.
They will join the Kings as additions to the revamped competition, which launches in 2016.
While the inclusion of Japan - with a 115-year heritage in the game - will resonate with most rugby playing nations, the new entrants have had to agree to a playing schedule that will almost certainly render them cannon fodder from the outset.
Part of the problem is the South African Rugby Union's insistence that its players not be exposed to excessive travel. It meant the Tokyo-based side had to agree to play three home matches in Singapore as part of their obligations in one of South Africa's two conferences. The Argentinian side will play in the other.
Flying to Singapore from Johannesburg takes 10-and-a-half hours, while travelling to Tokyo requires more than 18 hours of your time, including the helter-skelter of catching a connecting flight.
While the matches at the brand new Singapore Sports Hub will serve the dual purpose of meeting Saru's objectives, as well as give Sanzar an additional footprint in the Asian market, it will do little for the competitive integrity of a competition perennially in question.
Already the tournament does not pit all the teams against each other, but the lack of an equitable structure will be keenly felt by the Tokyo side, who will be partly forfeiting home ground advantage in their maiden season.
"Franchises in their inaugural season will have their challenges," reminded John Mitchell, who has held Super rugby coaching reins either side of the Indian Ocean at the Western Force and Lions.