Cape Town - Eddie Jones will start his tenure as Stormers coach with a home match against the Bulls.
Download 2016 Super Rugby draw
The draw for the new 18-team Super Rugby competition was released by SANZAR on Monday.
The current Japan coach will join up with the Stormers after the conclusion of this year’s Rugby World Cup.
The Capetonians start their campaign with a north-south derby against their old rivals at Newlands on Saturday, February 27.
The Lions will make history by becoming the first team to play a Super Rugby match in Japan when they face the Tokyo-based franchise at Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium on February 27.
The Cheetahs will similarly become the first team to play the new entrant from Argentina, when they host the Buenos Aires-based team in Bloemfontein a few hours earlier on the competition’s opening evening, Friday, February 26.
The Kings return to the competition with a mouth-watering coastal derby against the Sharks on the Saturday.
The six South African teams are grouped in two African pools along with the new entrants from Japan and Argentina.
Africa Conference 1 - which will play against the Australian conference in 2016 - is made up of the Bulls, Cheetahs, Stormers and the Japanese team.
Africa Conference 2 features the Kings, Lions, Sharks and the Argentinian team and will play against the New Zealand conference.
The existing ten Australasian teams will be divided into New Zealand and Australian pools.
The winners of each pool will earn automatic entry to the knockout Super Rugby Finals Series.
The next highest-ranked team from the African conference will also be placed in the Finals Series along with the three next highest-ranked teams from Australasian conference.