Brendan O’Brien The news that a foreign coach had been co-opted onto the Springboks ticket before leaving for Japan stirred fond memories for Bryan Habana.

Munster received a tough draw against reigning champions Saracens in next season's Champions Cup pool stages.

Is the dam on the brink of bursting? Is international rugby ready to sell its soul? The haste with which a proposed new 12-team World League is being introduced smacks of panic. There is even talk of the tournament running in 2020. Surely not?

The time has come for Ireland rugby to believe the hype and go to Japan this year confident they can and will win the World Cup.

Conor Murray was honoured in France as the World Player of the Year at the Midol Rugby Oscars.

"The inevitable moment has come knocking on my door and I've welcomed it in for a drink."

Mathieu Bastareaud has always stood out in a crowd, never more so than when surrounded by some of the most famous players in the world.

The “Sold Out” signs have been up for days at Thomond Park, Ireland’s Six Nations heroes have returned to the fold and the treatment room is as busy as it has been all season. Would it be any other way for Munster in a Champions Cup quarter-final week?

Ian Keatley sees the visit of Toulon to Thomond Park not only for the huge challenge it is for Munster but also as a massive opportunity for a young side eager to stake its own place in the province’s rich European heritage.

The enormity of the challenge facing Leinster and Munster in their respective Champions Cup quarter-finals this weekend is capably captured by the fact their opponents, Saracens and Toulon, have won the last five Heineken/Champions Cups between them, writes Donal Lenihan.

It’s part of the gig. Meeting agents. There’s been quite a few in the past two weeks and I’m never sure whether I’m energised or anxious at the amount of money sloshing around in rugby.

We’re just over 10 years removed from Ronan O’Gara’s famous swipe at the English Premiership, but the debate on the relative merits of that league and the PRO12 will zoom back into focus on Saturday when the respective league leaders clash in a Champions Cup quarter-final in Dublin.

Here’s the lowdown on four big games across Europe...

Conor O'Shea's Italy claimed their first-ever victory over South Africa with a nail-biting 20-18 success in Florence.

South Africa’s backroom staff believe Ireland’s stunning win over New Zealand in Chicago offers a blueprint for victory over England at Twickenham on Saturday.

Racing 29 Toulon 21: An incredible 14-man defensive stand added to some ice-cool kicking allowed Racing 92 and former Ireland icon Ronan O’Gara to secure their first Top 14 title in 26 years.

It’s more than a quarter of a century since the Berlin Wall came down and communism was rolled up like a musty carpet across Eastern Europe.

Toulon president Mourad Boudjellal has launched an audacious bid to see his three-time European champions join the Aviva Premiership.

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

When New Zealand and South Africa clash, all bets are off.

Good afternoon. Here’s all the news you need to know this lunchtime.

Bryan Habana has dedicated South Africa’s World Cup semi-final to teacher Zukisa Kela, whose last words were “Go Springboks Go” before being drowned by a gang.

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.

Bryan Habana had just turned 12 when he chased Jonah Lomu into the bathroom of an upmarket hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg.

South Africa 64 USA 0: Heyneke Meyer paid tribute to Bryan Habana after the wing equalled the Rugby World Cup try-scoring record as his South Africa side confirmed their quarter-final spot with a comprehensive 10-try victory over USA.

South Africa 34 Scotland 16: Stand-off Duncan Weir hopes his stunning second-half burst against South Africa on Saturday will help seal his place in coach Vern Cotter’s plans as Scotland look to book their place in the World Cup quarter-finals.

A compilation of some the latest gossip and news from inside RWC2015.

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.

Vern Cotter has extended his Scotland contract until 2017 in a major show of faith from the Scottish Rugby Union ahead of the World Cup.

South Africans must be patient with the pace of transformation in the country’s national rugby side and will not be asking for more black players at the World Cup, sports minister Fikile Mbalula said yesterday.

Former All Blacks rugby star Jerry Collins and his wife Alana Madill have died after their car was hit by a bus on a road outside the southern French town of Beziers.

Having backed Toulon and Clermont to produce a decent spectacle in the European Champions Cup final, I’m glad to say we weren’t disappointed.

TOULON 24 CLERMONT AUVERGNE 18: Be careful what you wish for.

Toulon made rugby union history at Twickenham as they clinched a hat-trick of European titles by defeating fellow French heavyweights Clermont Auvergne 24-18 in the Champions Cup final.

An enormous game for both teams. So said Tommy Bowe earlier this week of tonight’s Guinness PRO12 meeting in Belfast between Ulster and Leinster.

As we contemplate the prospect and the implications of a second all-French European final in three years, fans of the Irish provinces might be wondering what their sides must do to get back to the continent’s top table.

As it stands, the provinces enjoy limited access to those players who are regular members of Joe Schmidt’s squad and, though this has been the case for some time now, calls for more flexibility have been louder this year.

Wales star Leigh Halfpenny admitted it was a dream come true after he helped Toulon reach the European Champions Cup final following yesterday’s tense extra-time victory.