It has been reported that South Africa are in negotiations with Six Nations bosses about leaving the Rugby Championship.

Andy Farrell has experienced the cruel extremes of Anglo-Irish rugby conflict from both sides, for England in Dublin and Ireland in London.

So Andy Farrell opted to play safe last weekend with his selection against Scotland?

So Andy Farrell opted to play safe last weekend with his selection against Scotland? Really?

The British and Irish Lions could play in a warm-up fixture in Ireland in 2021..

Munster have made a major statement of intent for the coming season after confirming the signings of South African World Cup winners Damian de Allende and RG Snyman.

Felix Jones has been appointed as a European-based coaching consultant with the South African Rugby Union.

The expectation in South Africa is that Felix Jones will continue to work with the Springboks under the new coaching team. As for the man himself, he was tight-lipped on his future yesterday when asked what comes next after his World Cup experience.

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

De Allende was a star performer as South Africa clinched the World Cup with victory over England on Saturday, having scored the crucial try in their semi-final win over Wales.

When the baseball-capped Nelson Mandela danced his famous jig in the No.6 Springbok jersey, Siya Kolisi would not have paid a blind bit of notice.

When he gathered the Springboks before the Rugby Championship this year, Rassie Erasmus was so confident that he told them it was a 20-week journey.

Kyle Sinckler admitted “sport is cruel” after he was knocked out in the opening moments of England’s 32-12 World Cup final defeat by South Africa.

Eddie Jones says that England are going to be “kicking stones for four years” following their comprehensive World Cup final defeat against South Africa.

The Rugby World Cup drew to a close on Saturday, when England were beaten by South Africa in the final.

The panel who drew up the shortlist were all-time greats Brian O’Driscoll, Richie McCaw, John Smit, and George Gregan.

Donal Lenihan outlines where the game will be won and lost.

A look back on the eight previous Rugby World Cup finals.

There is no escaping what the symbolism of Siya Kolisi lifting the Webb Ellis Cup could mean for South Africa, given his well-documented story of poverty to success.

The candidates to succeed Ireland and Joe Schmidt as World Rugby Team and Coach of the Year have been announced.

Eddie Jones and Rassie Erasmus were both celebrating at full time when England and South Africa last contested a World Cup final, at the Stade de France 12 years ago.

Munster may be without out-half Joey Carbery for the opening two rounds of the Champions Cup against Ospreys and Racing 92. Defence coach JP Ferreira said the priority was to get him and all the Irish internationals right for the season on their return from the World Cup.

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.

The team that had supposedly forgotten how to lose suddenly remembered at the worst possible time yesterday and the first all-Six Nations global decider vanished like a mirage.

Wales coach Warren Gatland admitted his side paid the price for conceding too many penalties as they suffered an agonising 19-16 defeat to South Africa in their World Cup semi-final.

If the Springboks go on to make the Rugby World Cup final, or… gasp… win the title for a third time next weekend, then they should probably ask for an extra medal or two to be sent to Munster.

Once again the wheat has been separated from the chaff at a World Cup and Ireland have been swept away in the clean-up.

Donal Lenihan previews the Rugby World Cup semi-finals and the credentials of the teams still involved.

We’ve been wandering around Japan for five weeks and, while it’s been a wonderfully immersive experience, you would be fooling yourself if you thought you were doing anything more than dipping your toes in the waters.

Sit steady and stop fidgeting. The World Cup is about to get properly serious.

There can't be many phrases as condescending in sport as 'Tier 2'.

The top eight teams in the world rankings will contest the World Cup quarter-finals in Japan this weekend.

The Springboks are used to being the pantomime villains of world rugby. Their bruising style, proclivity for controversy and yes, success, make them a team everybody loves to hate.

Whether or not Japan, the Brave Blossoms, continue to defy the odds, in this Sunday’s World Cup quarter-final, the success of Jamie Joseph’s side, on home soil, should open doors at world rugby’s top table.

Four years on from that famous defeat in Brighton, and South Africa are again playing second-fiddle to Japan.

Seiji Hirao played in three World Cups and saw a fourth as Japan's head coach. He was also a superstar in his home country.

And that includes World Rugby, the sport’s governing body, which has been stunned by the huge numbers being racked up in terms of television viewers and social media engagements as well as the good old-fashioned barometer of jersey sales.

Size isn't everything. Even for the Springboks.

It may have taken time to make an impact, but this World Cup has finally captured the interest and imagination of the Japanese public — thanks in no small part to the exploits of their national team.

Some things don't change with the All Blacks. Though they can play rugby with a terrifying beauty, there is a robotic consistency to the way they put opponents to the sword.

Whether you are beating the All Blacks five tries to four or grinding it out in a tight arm-wrestle, Johnny Sexton knows the common thread to Ireland’s recent successes against the best team in the world was to never switch off.

Maybe it says everything about the way the All Blacks are that the day after they learned their final pool game against Italy had been cancelled, they woke up super early and battered themselves senseless in a training game.

The biblical scale of the devastation began to emerge from the crack of dawn: landslides, floods, minor earthquakes, mass evacuations and, worst of all, the ever-rising death toll.

Presumption has already made fools of many of us at this World Cup.