Japanese hooker Shota Horie will remain at the Melbourne Rebels for a third Super Rugby season after signing a new one-year contract with the club.

The 28-year-old, with 17 appearances since arriving in the Victorian capital in 2013, only scored his first try against the Chiefs in April.

Horie, aiming to play his second Rugby World Cup in England next year, said he was very happy to stay at the Rebels after welcoming baby Yoshino to his family a month ago.

“My wife Yukari told me that if I want to stay as a Rebel, we can do that; the baby will be fine here,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Super Rugby is a very difficult competition and, this year, we haven’t won enough games.

“I want to win more Super Rugby games at the Rebels and I want more Super Rugby game time.”

Rebels coach Tony McGahan admitted he didn’t know a lot about Horie, having had limited playing time in 2013 and starting pre-season late this year.

“However we were really impressed with his condition when he came back from Japan in February – he was fit, keen and eager and a really good student of the game,” McGahan said.

“Shota continued to work hard while adjusting to a new program which had changed a fair bit from the previous year.

“Then when the opportunity presented itself, he was good enough to take it and actually had a really big influence on games. That’s been fantastic from our perspective.”

Horie will return to play in the Japanese Top League for champions Panasonic Wild Knights in the off-season before rejoining the Rebels next year.

“I am looking forward to next year and getting better than this year but, first, we need a strong two weeks in South Africa to finish this season,” he added.

The Rebels face the Lions in Johannesburg early on Saturday morning (AEST), before their last-round fixture against the Bulls in Pretoria next weekend.