Zebre 19 Munster 29: Alex Wootton was one of the players that Rassie Erasmus name-checked in his final week with Munster when he was asked what he would miss when he returned to South Africa.

England survived an almighty scare to finish 36-15 winners at Twickenham as Italy issued a rousing response to scrutiny of their ongoing presence in the Six Nations.

Warren Gatland has targeted “another step up” from his players on Friday night when they chase a victory over France that would send them top of the RBS 6 Nations Championship.

Italy will have four new faces in their squad when they face Ireland in their RBS 6 Nations Championship opener in Rome next month.

Paul O’Connell was named amongst the starters as Anthony Foley made seven changes to the Munster starting 15 to face Zebre.

Rory Best returns to the Ulster line-up as captain for this weekend’s PRO12 match against Zebre.