Rugby-Japanese fans asked to name country's new Super Rugby side

TOKYO, June 1 (Reuters) - Japanese rugby fans have been asked to come up with a suitable name for the country's new Super Rugby team, which will enter the expanded competition next year. Suggestions, in English or Japanese, must be "easy to pronounce" and can be submitted through the Japan Super Rugby Association's website (https://super-japanrugby.com/) before July 19. Organisers of the competition are hoping it will help build a support base for Asia's first Super Rugby team, which will play most of its home matches in Tokyo and three a year in Singapore. Former Australia coach Eddie Jones, who has been named director of rugby for the team, said it was vital to help the core of national team players develop in time for Japan's hosting of the 2019 World Cup. "Joining the Super Rugby competition allows Japan players the opportunity to play high level rugby consistently," he said in a statement. "Players do not get this now, one of the reasons I believe Japan has struggled to win at the Rugby World Cup. For team names, I like names that are uniquely Japanese." Perhaps the most obvious name, Samurai, is not eligible because of a clause forbidding nicknames already in use by another national team. Japan's soccer team are known as the "Samurai Blue". The demand that the name must also be "powerful" would in any case rule out borrowing the nickname of the Japan national rugby team, the "Brave Blossoms". (Reporting by Nick Mulvenney in Sydney; Editing by John O'Brien)