Johann van Graan has backed Munster to adapt well to yet another change in the province’s management set-up following confirming that Aled Walters is set to leave his post as Head of Athletic Performance.

Springbok coach Allister Coetzee is sure that a lack of experience in the role of head coach will not hamper Johann van Graan as he prepares to take over the reins at Munster from Rassie Erasmus.

Rassie Erasmus admits that he will experience mixed emotions at Musgrave Park tonight when Munster take on the Dragons in what may be his last game as the team’s head coach.

Outgoing Munster head coach Rassie Erasmus yesterday held what may be one of his last press conferences at the UL High Performance Centre yesterday.

It’s been something of a rollercoaster week for Munster, what with a face-saving draw on the road against Castres, the weakest of the French participants in this season’s Champions Cup, to complement the confirmation of a new head coach, writes Donal Lenihan.

Rassie Erasmus has defended his position in the midst of an apparent tug of war over the services of his touted replacement as Munster’s director of rugby.

Brian O’Driscoll believes Munster’s possible appointment of South African Johann van Graan as its new director of rugby is a leap of faith in the judgement of outgoing boss Rassie Erasmus.

IRFU performance director David Nucifora is hopeful Munster have found the right person to succeed Rassie Erasmus and will be able to announce their new director of rugby “in the short term”.

There will be more searching examinations this season of Munster’s Guinness PRO14 title credentials than those posed by Benetton Rugby last Friday in Cork but as opening-night performances go, there was much from which Rassie Erasmus could take pleasure.

The dawn of a new era is upon us as the expanded, Springbok-tinged Guinness Pro14 kicks off tonight in Belfast but at the same time in Cork it is the departure of South African talent that will, alas, mark the opening weeks of the fledgling league campaign.

Witnessing Rassie Erasmus’s reaction to defeat last Friday night was as instructive as it was surprising.

Munster director of rugby Rassie Erasmus still has more questions than answers surrounding the make-up and fitness of his squad as he attempts to prepare his players for Saturday’s Guinness Pro12 opener at Scarlets.

When Allister Coetzee touched down in Port Elizabeth with his team last Sunday afternoon, he had a spring in his step, and not just from the previous night’s series-levelling victory over Ireland.

A new Springboks coach will be named this morning with Allister Coetzee expected to be tasked with making the team a formidable force again while radically altering its racial composition.

Heyneke Meyer believes “the time has come for change” after bringing an end to his reign as South Africa head coach.

They go into the tournament with race representation plaguing them, but if South Africa come through the pool phase unscathed and purring, no team would relish taking them on in knockout rugby.

South Africa will bid against Ireland to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

South Africa full-back Zane Kirchner has been ruled out of the second Test against England with a knee injury.

Ireland forwards coach Gert Smal last night spoke of his decision to continue his role in Declan Kidney’s management set-up rather than pursue the head coaching role of his native South Africa.

SARACENS have announced that they will play their Heineken Cup pool stage clash with Biarritz in Cape Town, marking the first time the tournament has seen a fixture played outside Europe.

South Africa have called Sharks back-rower Jean Deysel into their World Cup training squad to provide injury cover.

DECLAN KIDNEY appears to be on the verge of recruiting Os du Randt as Ireland’s scrum coach for the upcoming Rugby World Cup.

South Africa have named seven uncapped players in a 51-man squad called up for a team planning session in Cape Town next month ahead of the World Cup and international season.

South Africa internationals Chiliboy Ralepelle and Bjorn Basson have been cleared to play on after a judicial hearing found they were not to blame for returning positive drug tests.

The judicial committee investigating the anti-doping charges against South Africa duo Chiliboy Ralepelle and Bjorn Basson has reserved its judgement after hearing evidence from both players in Cape Town today.

Chiliboy Ralepelle and Bjorn Basson face possible drug bans after the South African Rugby Union today confirmed they had returned positive 'B' samples.

SOUTH AFRICAN rugby has reversed its policy of refusing to play against the New Zealand Maori, paving the way for match-ups between the two sides.

South Africa duo Bjorn Basson and Chiliboy Ralepelle are to be sent home from the tour of Britain and Ireland after testing positive for a banned stimulant.

Prop Gurthro Steenkamp has been named the South African Player of the Year for 2010.

Peter de Villiers will remain as South Africa coach until at least the end of the next year’s World Cup, after a meeting with his employers in Johannesburg.

South Africa coach Peter de Villiers will come face-to-face with his employers in exactly two weeks time for a review of the performances of his embattled team.

South Africa coach Peter de Villiers should employ a spokesperson to help him deal with the media, according to the country's Sport and Recreation Minister.

Peter de Villiers should employ a spokesperson to help him deal with the media, according to the country’s Sport and Recreation Minister.

ALLISTER COETZEE insists there is no truth in reports of a planned coup involving himself and Jake White aimed at toppling South African national coach Peter de Villiers.