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Cape Town - Argentina's Jaguares are set to be a major force in Super Rugby 2016.
That is the view of Stormers coach Robbie Fleck, who said this week that the tournament newcomers were one of the biggest threats in the competition.
The Stormers have won three of the last five South African conferences in Super Rugby, but in the new-look 2016 tournament an African group will see the six South African teams joined by the Jaguares and Sunwolves (Japan).
It is a tough introduction to Super Rugby for the Argentinians, who have to play against New Zealand opposition in their debut season alongside the Sharks, Lions and Kings in their conference.
But Fleck is expecting big things.
"I don’t really want to focus on the South African sides, I think that we all know what that’s all about," he said from Cape Town.
"I certainly feel that the Jaguares are a threat in the African conferences.
"That’s a tough pool that the Lions and the Sharks are in. I really feel that if you go according to what they did at the World Cup and the amount of players they’ve got in that squad that were at the World Cup … I think that they’re a real danger.
"Not just only to the African conference, but to the New Zealand sides as well. They are the real threat in this competition."
Fleck stopped just short of calling the Jaguares title contenders, but he did suggest that they would be able to challenge any side in the tournament.
The Stormers will have an early look at the Jaguares when they host them in a pre-season friendly at Newlands on February 13.
The sides will clash in Super Rugby on March 26 in Buenos Aires.
