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.

Connacht’s search for Eric Elwood’s successor looks to have been reduced by one after former Ospreys coach Sean Holley said he has turned the western province down.

Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall has committed himself to the club for the next two seasons after agreeing a contract extension.

Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall has committed himself to the club for the next two seasons after agreeing a contract extension.

When Schalk Brits flies past you driving a spray-painted old banger with four large, loud rugby players as passengers, you realise this isn’t your average club.

English clubs are instinctively divided, but there is one topic that unites them all; their dislike of Saracens.

Veteran Munster scrum-half Peter Stringer insists his spell in exile has been time well spent, writes Barry Coughlan

Northampton 23 Scarlets 28

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.

BEN FODEN has backed Mike Tindall to “show the critics he is here to win a World Cup” when England tackle Romania in Saturday’s Pool B clash at the Otago Stadium.

REGRETS, thrills, spills, celebration and contemplation, so much to occupy the minds of players and coaches over the course of the next few weeks as they take a step back from the unrelenting grind of professional rugby and consider the possibilities for next season.

IT is not all it seems in Pool 2 of the Heineken Cup, and an eight-point difference between leaders Leinster and bottom team Saracens doesn’t necessarily tell the whole story of this particular four-team campaign.

SARACENS come to Dublin this week marooned at the bottom of pool four, eight points behind Leinster, but Richardt Strauss has reason enough to approach Saturday’s Heineken Cup encounter with due care.

WINNING at Wembley last October must have been sweet enough in itself but Leinster’s memories of the legendary venue were embellished even further when Saracens coach Brendan Venter vented his fury after the game.

COMPLIMENTS of the season from festive Heathrow where the annual snow crisis has arrived a little earlier this year.

ADVENT isn’t the only count-down as far as rugby fans across Europe are concerned.

LEICESTER’S director of rugby Richard Cockerill claimed Heineken Cup referees are allowing cheats to prosper after Perpignan snatched a 22-22 draw at Welford Road.

Saracens director of rugby Brendan Venter has been tonight warned by European Rugby Cup (ERC) over his conduct in future media interviews.

Saracens today announced that Brendan Venter is to return to South Africa for family reasons, relinquishing his post as director of rugby.

SOUTH AFRICA captain Victor Matfield will take comfort in familiarity if not experience when he leads the world champions out to take on Ireland at the Aviva Stadium tomorrow (5.30pm).

Saracens director of rugby Brendan Venter has been fined €25,000 after being found guilty of misconduct by a disciplinary hearing in Dublin following his comments after last month’s Heineken Cup defeat to Leinster, European Rugby Cup have confirmed.

Saracens rugby director Brendan Venter has been hit with a misconduct charge following comments he made after his team’s Heineken Cup defeat against Leinster at Wembley earlier this month.

Saracens are hopeful they can complete a deal to sign unsettled Wales star Gavin Henson.

DID a strange sense of foreboding strike anyone as the final whistle blew on Saturday to deliver a well-earned Heineken Cup victory on the road for Leinster?

Brendan Venter has warned the International Rugby Board that the game will be harmed if they do not address the current problems at the breakdown.

QUICK feet, great pace out wide, good kicking. And that’s just the hooker.

LEINSTER will be without Brian O’Driscoll for this evening’s Heineken Cup pool two clash with Saracens at Wembley Stadium (5.45pm).

ERNST JOUBERT shouldn’t be a rugby player. He should be an accountant, or a full-time traveller. And it is as much to his surprise as anyone else’s that he will be lining up for Saracens against Leinster at Wembley this afternoon.

Director of Rugby Brendan Venter makes two changes to his Saracens side to play Leinster in the second round of the Heineken Cup at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.

ALEX GOODE is not a player lacking in self-belief, so it is no surprise that the Saracens youngster is desperate to line up against Brian O’Driscoll at Wembley tomorrow.

LEINSTER’S latest South African prop seems to be settling in well to his new surroundings in the Irish capital, and Heinke van der Merwe should feel equally at home in Wembley on Saturday.

England prospects Brad Barritt, Alex Goode and Andy Saull have agreed new three-year contracts with Saracens.

JONATHAN SEXTON insists that Leinster have the strength in depth to deal with the loss of Brian O’Driscoll should the Irish captain fail to recover from his hamstring injury for Saturday’s Heineken Cup clash with Saracens.

Maybe the GAA can learn a thing or two from rugby –- like kicking off its premier competition with a bang. While the summer Championships often sleepwalk into summer, the Heineken Cup starts this weekend with heavyweight collisions. Alan Good looks ahead.

LOGIC suggests a mountain climbed should no longer be quite so daunting, but try telling that to the three Irish provinces who will have it all to do to emulate past glories in the Heineken Cup this season.

SARACENS boss Brendan Venter has pleaded with rugby’s global authorities to seize the new international directives on refereeing and let the game flourish.

Saracens boss Brendan Venter has pleaded with rugby’s global authorities to seize the new international directives on refereeing and let the game flourish.

Toby Booth has distanced London Irish from any realistic prospect of recruiting unsettled Wales star Gavin Henson.

Connacht 5 Saracens 22, the Sportsground

SARACENS have confirmed plans to stage their Heineken Cup clash with Leinster at Wembley this season.

Leicester 33 Saracens 27

THE Ospreys have been fined £100,000 and docked four league points next season for breaching Magners League rules.