Three foreign teams to fear the most

01 WARATAHS

You have to go back to 2014 to find the last time the Waratahs were any good. They have enough players left from that period and a few new discoveries to promote confidence that they are going to get their act together this year.

Their playmaking axis is strong and they have a bit of size and clout in the forwards. If they start well, get on a roll and start believing in themselves, they could cruise the Australian Conference and reach the playoffs in a good head space.

02 LIONS

They remain the best side in South Africa despite losing their long-serving coach. And they remain good enough to win plenty of games at Ellis Park, sneak a few on the road and take out the South African Conference.

And then they become dangerous because if they can hold home advantage in the final games, they are hellishly difficult to beat. There is the travel and altitude to factor and that has been a weapon for them.

03 REBELS

It feels wrong to be writing this as the Rebels were one of the worst teams in the competition last year. And they really were bad.

But they have recruited so well that they could be a different side entirely in 2018.

They have picked the best bits from the Force, signed Parling and Genia and have Dave Wessels as coach. It’s not reason to start thinking of them as potential champions but it is enough to be thinking they could be a dark horse.