Francis Saili available for crunch Christmas derby dates

The clock may be ticking but there is still no definite news on whether South African centre Jaco Taute will be available to Munster in 2017. His temporary contract comes to an end on January 1st so a decision as to whether his stay with Munster can be extended must be made imminently.

The saga has dragged on for far longer than director of rugby Rassie Erasmus would have liked and in that time Taute has become a very definite favourite with fans and team-mates alike. Erasmus confirmed that Francis Saili, the New Zealand centre whom Taute was signed to replace, will be available for the two Guinness PRO12 games against Leinster at a sold-out Thomond Park on Monday (St Stephen’s Day) and Connacht in Galway on New Year’s Eve. Erasmus has been clearly impressed by Saili’s keenness to get back into action.

“He’s the kind of guy who enjoys it when Munster plays well so he wouldn’t be bothered that Jaco played well,” he said. “He’d like to play well with Jaco and Rory (Scannell) or Dan (Goggin) and we are just so excited to see him out on the park. Now it’s our job to make sure we manage him back into the system whilst trying to win all the time as we change and test combinations. It’s an interesting time for us but surely a very good situation to be in.”