Marcell Coetzee hasn’t given up hope of a late call-up to the South African World Cup squad and hopes his superb form for Ulster will help get him to Japan.

Ulster head coach Dan McFarland has revealed he was “gutted” when he lost out on the Connacht job to Pat Lam in 2013.

Irish lock Quinn Roux is a doubt for Connacht’s PRO14 quarter-final with Ulster on Saturday week.

A Keith Earls hat-trick inside seven minutes during a six-try opening half helped Munster wrap up maximum points against a weak Edinburgh outfit in Cork last night.

Johann van Graan has been involved in some pretty significant semi-finals in his coaching career and as he began preparations for Munster’s mission to succeed in Bordeaux this Sunday he urged his players to “embrace the expectation”.