Munster defence coach JP Ferreira is the first to acknowledge that Faf de Klerk and Craig Casey are at contrasting points in their careers but he can think of nobody better than the World Cup winner for the young Limerick scrum-half to follow.

Munster’s South African influence looks like deepening still further with reports that World Cup winners — centre Damian de Allende and lock RG Snyman — are to join the province

Battered and bruised and ultimately beaten, Wales and Warren Gatland’s World Cup dream ended at the hands of a giant South African outfit for the second successive tournament.

They led 24-3 early on in a thrilling Test.

Beauden, Jordie, and Scott Barrett will become the first trio of brothers to start a Test together for the All Blacks when they line up in the series-opener against France at Auckland’s Eden Park on Saturday.

Guinness PRO14: Southern Kings 36 - Ulster 43: Ulster staged a superb second-half fightback to record a 43-36 Guinness PRO14 win over Southern Kings after trailing 22-10 at the break in Port Elizabeth.

The last white leader of South Africa FW de Klerk has warned US President Donald Trump that he is not doing the free world any favours by sending overzealous tweets.

CONNACHT 32 - SOUTHERN KINGS 10: Connacht coach Kieran Keane was the first to admit that facing newcomers the Southern Kings so early in the season was a welcome gift but he feels the bonus point win secured on Saturday night will propel his new side.

The immediate response on the final whistle at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium was one of acute disappointment given Ireland finished this gruelling series camped on the South African line after a 19-phase onslaught in search of what could have been a winning score and a series clincher. It was that tight.

There’s a huge onus on Ireland’s new boys to hold the defensive line, writes Donal Lenihan.

Glasgow 16 Ulster 14: Glasgow left it late to book a place in the Guinness Pro12 final after a nail-biting 16-14 win over Ulster at Scotstoun.

Ulster signalled its serious intent for tonight’s Guinness Pro12 semi-final at Glasgow Warriors by naming its strongest possible side.

Glasgow 32 Ulster 10

Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu’s sabre rattling over Iran was well-received by the war-mongering US Republican party. After all, they need the threat of a new war to swing the gullible electorate in their favour.

Apartheid death-squad leader Eugene de Kock, dubbed ‘Prime Evil’ for his role in the torture and murder of scores of black South African activists in the 1980s and early 1990s, was granted parole after more than 20 years in prison.

A teacher who suffered a serious leg injury when an elephant tore through her car in South Africa has told how she desperately tried to drive away.

Nelson Mandela guided South Africa from the shackles of apartheid to multi-racial democracy, as an icon of peace and reconciliation who came to embody the struggle for justice globally.

US president Barack Obama implored thousands gathered in a cold, rainy stadium and millions watching around the world to carry forward Nelson Mandela’s mission of erasing injustice and inequality.

Tens of thousands of spectators have braved foul weather to join heads of state from around the world in celebrating the life of Nelson Mandela in South Africa.

South Africans were praised for the “dignified” way in which they have commemorated the death of Nelson Mandela as the memorial service for the anti-apartheid hero got under way.

Nelson Mandela worked his magic once more yesterday, uniting friends and foes alike in a global outpouring of grief as they mourned the death of the anti-apartheid icon.

South Africans have gathered to mourn the death of Nelson Mandela – and celebrate his colossal life.

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev will not attend Baroness Thatcher’s funeral due to health problems, his spokesman said today.

South Africans are celebrating how far they have come since Nelson Mandela took his first steps to freedom 20 years ago today.

As the protests continue, however, Mousavi might be propelled into a position he never sought: the Mikhail Gorbachev or FW de Klerk of Iran, a member of the ruling establishment who surprises even himself by deviating from the line to the point where the system falls apart

IF ALL goes according to script, and there is no reason to imagine it will not, Brian Cowen will be elected taoiseach this afternoon.

Former South African President FW De Klerk today insisted he knew nothing about any atrocities or assassinations committed during his leadership.

South Africa today said goodbye to former president PW Botha, a man who in life was associated with some of the worst excesses of apartheid, but whose death has shown the strides a bitterly divided country has made toward reconciliation.

PW Botha, the apartheid-era president who led South Africa through its worst racial violence and deepest international isolation, died peacefully in his sleep. He was 90.

SOUTH Africa’s last hardline white president, PW Botha, has died. He was 90.

South Africa’s last white president, FW De Klerk, was discharged from hospital today after recovering from complications following surgery for colon cancer.

Former president FW De Klerk, who negotiated the end of the oppressive white-minority regime his party created, has warned that South African democracy is being undercut by the same racial divides as a decade ago.

A security guard accused of killing former South African first lady Marike de Klerk today pleaded not guilty to murder, rape and robbery charges.

A 21-year-old security guard appeared in court today accused of murdering former South African first lady Marike de Klerk .

Former first lady Marike de Klerk was buried in a private ceremony today, five days after she was strangled to death in her Cape Town apartment.

A security guard arrested yesterday has allegedly confessed to murdering Marike de Klerk, the ex-wife of former South African President FW de Klerk.

South African police have arrested a man in connection with the murder of Marike de Klerk, the 64-year-old ex-wife of former president FW de Klerk.

The wife of former South Africa president F W De Klerk has been murdered.