Marcell Coetzee marked his comeback for Ulster with one of their five tries in a 33-19 Guinness PRO14 win over the Southern Kings.

It was a performance riddled with mistakes, so many of them elementary, but the side's reaction to adversity in the second-half, when coming from 13-0 down to claim the lead and hold out in the face of considerable pressure, was impressive.

There’s no doubt the absence of Maxime Machenaud has taken a major weapon out of Racing 92’s armoury ahead of Saturday’s Champions Cup final showdown with Leinster but assuming the Parisians will have no creative fulcrum without the France scrum-half is reckoning without Pat Lambie.

As Munster’s director of rugby, Rassie Erasmus saw at first hand how to exploit opposition weakness under the high ball and now he believes that is the area he must improve quickest as he takes control of South Africa.

Cheetahs 26 Connacht 25: Two weeks ago, as Connacht headed off on a tour to Treviso in Italy and the Highveld in South Africa, they would probably have settled for a return of five points against two sides who have been chalking up the results in their own backyards.

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

Everything about Francois Louw screamed ‘Springbok’ as he stood there on Saturday night trying to make sense of it all.

Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt insists he had fretted before yesterday's Test that his would face the same level of Springboks performance that forced a 25-24 defeat to New Zealand last month.

If Ireland charge out of the blocks after four months of international inactivity, this callow Springbok side will struggle to cope, writes Donal Lenihan

South Africa scrum coach Matt Proudfoot continued where his boss left off by heaping praise on Ireland yesterday.

Killing the opposition with kindness is the oldest trick in the sports PR book but Allister Coetzee’s respect for Ireland seems genuine given the Springbok head coach has labelled Joe Schmidt’s side as the northern hemisphere’s All Blacks.

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.

Guinness PRO14: Connacht 23 - Cheetahs 15: Tiernan O’Halloran has no qualms about being left out of the Irish squad for the autumn internationals, but the 26-year-old will be keeping a bag packed over the next few weeks in case there is a call from Joe Schmidt.

Guinness PRO14: Southern Kings 36 - Ulster 43: Ulster staged a superb second-half fightback to record a 43-36 Guinness PRO14 win over Southern Kings after trailing 22-10 at the break in Port Elizabeth.

Munster’s search for a new director of rugby has taken another twist after present incumbent Rassie Erasmus cast doubts on the province’s chances of getting their reported top target.

Munster’s search for a new director of rugby has taken another twist after present incumbent Rassie Erasmus cast doubts on the province’s chances of getting their reported top target.

A relaxed Rory McIlroy made the most of a little help from his friends as he tries to end a disappointing season in style in the British Masters.

Lucas Bjerregaard claimed his first individual European Tour title with an impressive display of front-running in the Portugal Masters today.

It has been a largely positive day for the Irish involved at the Portugal Masters.

Celtic go into the international break in fine fettle despite dropping their first two points of the season against St Johnstone, according to boss Brendan Rodgers.

Rivaldo Coetzee's proposed move from Ajax Cape Town to Celtic has fallen through after the defender failed a medical, the South African club have confirmed.

The All Blacks juggernaut hit a road bump in the British and Irish Lions series but it should be back to business as usual for the world champions when they take on South Africa, Australia and Argentina in the Rugby Championship.

South Africa’s revival in 2017 has been built on their intensity in defence and vigour at the breakdown, which was on display again in the dominant 35-12 victory over France at Ellis Park on Saturday that saw them sweep the home series 3-0.

Kinsale’s John Murphy will be hoping for some help from the leaders as he goes into the final round six shots off the lead in the East of Ireland Amateur Open at County Louth.

Sergio Garcia holds a three-shot lead after the second round of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic was completed this morning.

Wales posted only a third victory over South Africa in 110 years as they ended their autumn Test series in winning fashion at the Principality Stadium.

JM COETZEE’s novels are generally bleak, and full of hidden meanings. Yet most of the time this is a recipe for success.

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.

South Africa coach Allister Coetzee expects something different when the sides meet in tomorrow’s final Test in Port Elizabeth.

South Africa head coach Allister Coetzee has invited Ireland to “have a go” at his team when their series with the Springboks goes down to the wire on Saturday.

After the sobering sight of four World Cup semi-finalists coming from the southern hemisphere, last weekend offered a glimmer of hope for European rugby. The question now is, was it an aberration or a line in the sand?

In the face of criticism from Springboks coach Allister Coetzee that Ireland “weren’t interested in playing rugby”, Andrew Trimble has proclaimed pride in his team’s streetwise victory against the odds.

South Africa offered no excuses for their disappointing defeat against Ireland on Saturday with coach Allister Coetzee ordering his players to go and “fix it”.

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.