Munster defence coach JP Ferreira admits he was surprised to see Jean Kleyn make the Ireland squad for the Rugby World Cup but says the South African-born lock is being rewarded for his hard work with the province.

Munster's strength and conditioning coach PJ Wilson seems set to follow Jerry Flannery and Felix Jones out the door this summer.

Simon Lewis There is only so much credit you can give the winning team before turning the page and focusing on becoming the better team yourself.

The only vague surprise about France coach Jacques Brunel’s decision to keep faith with the 23 players who beat Scotland for Sunday’s Six Nations match against Ireland was that it was the first time he has named the same side for consecutive matches since taking the job in January 2018.

South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus had exaggeratedly suggested he could be looking for a new job if his side had lost to the All Blacks on Saturday, instead a 36-34 win showed his team were moving the right way towards next year’s Rugby World Cup.

South Africa-born back-rower CJ Stander says Ireland’s Six Nations Grand Slam bid against England is now the biggest game of his career.

Weekend review - What’s hot and what’s not...

If last Saturday proved a pretty humbling experience for South African rugby, it wasn’t a great week for the game’s governing body, World Rugby, either.

The Munster squad returns to training today ahead of the Guinness PRO14 trip to Italy to face Zebre in 11 days, while the province’s medical staff have received a fresh influx of injured Ireland players.

Ireland take one more step along the road in Dublin this evening when their credentials as one of the world’s top four teams are tested by old rivals South Africa.

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.

The mood in South African rugby is understandably glum after the Springboks lost 57-0 to the All Blacks at the weekend, but none of that worried Leinster backline coach Girvan Dempsey yesterday.

Few rugby players can simply be identified by their first names. Gareth, Sonny Bill, Zinzan, Jonny, and Jonah are some of the few whose deeds and skills have given them that particular status. And Joost.

Ireland may be on the rise but Jamie Heaslip has warned his side face another massive challenge when Australia come to the Aviva Stadium this Saturday.

CJ Stander was last night handed a one-week suspension, leaving him out of this Saturday’s second Test with South Africa.

BJ Botha and Denis Hurley headlined a list of departing players from Munster as plans for life under incoming director of rugby Rassie Erasmus continue to take shape.

As if the stakes for Munster were not high enough ahead of Friday’s Guinness Pro12 showdown with Edinburgh, chief executive Garrett Fitzgerald has warned that defeat in the last two games of the season could cost the province €500,000.

Australia number eight David Pocock has invited “legend” David Attenborough to Saturday’s World Cup final against New Zealand at Twickenham.

On June 24, a group of middle-aged men met at Ellis Park in Johannesburg. They swapped stories, posed for photos and then watched a film together.

Warren Gatland insists Wales are “not ready to go home” as they seek the fulfilment denied them at the last World Cup. The injury-ravaged Welsh are targeting only their third victory over South Africa when they face Heyneke Meyer’s revived southern hemisphere giants in tomorrow’s opening quarter-final at Twickenham.

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.

CJ Stander acknowledged the encouragement and drive of his team-mates after being named Munster’s Player of the Year at the province’s 2015 Munster Rugby Awards in Cork yesterday.

South Africa captain and former Munster player Jean de Villiers faces a race to be fit for next year’s World Cup.

Ireland 49 Georgia 7

Not a move endorsed by Julie Andrews, never mind rehearsed on the training field under the watchful eye of Joe Schmidt, but let’s start at the very end, writes Enda McEvoy. 

When South Africa captain Jean de Villiers lines up against Ireland today, he will have almost 100 caps and 12 years of experience on his direct opponents.

Still only 21, Serfontein has already established a reputation as something of a dump truck.

Defence coach Les Kiss has insisted his four-month Ulster sabbatical will have no impact on his preparations for Ireland’s autumn Test series.

New Zealand 14 South Africa 10

Bryan Habana will be giving his Toulon team-mates the inside track on Munster’s South African contingent, having played with BJ Botha, CJ Stander and Gerhard van den Heever.

HEINEKEN CUP POOL ONE:

Scotland 0 South Africa 28

Argentina 15 New Zealand 33

Argentina prop Juan Figallo has been cited for head-butting France captain Pascal Pape at the end of the Pumas’ 39-22 defeat in Lille on Saturday night.

Ireland’s preparations for Saturday’s Test against South Africa have been dealt another serious blow after Paul O’Connell was ruled out of the Guinness Series opener due to a back injury.

As he leans casually in a doorway at the South African team hotel in the Dublin suburbs, his near six feet and eight inches topped with a boyish mop of hair, the quiet presence of Eben Etzebeth appears at odds with his burgeoning reputation as the Springboks’ newest hard man.

South Africa 16 New Zealand 32

Referee Alain Rolland was wrong not to allow Australia to make a late substitution and finish their match against South Africa with 15 men, the International Rugby Board (IRB) said hours after backing the officials’ original decision.

South Africa 36 England 27