Connacht are currently in negotiation with South Africa to bring the Springboks to Galway for a pre-World Cup match. Negotiations are ongoing with the 1995 World Cup winners and a resolution is expected by next Monday.

The Sportsground would host a fixture that would be a massive draw and revenue earner for the Irish province.

The Springboks, should they agree to travel to Galway, wouldn't be the first southern hemisphere side to head into the west as New Zealand thumped Connacht 40-9 in 1989, an All Blacks team that included Wayne "Buck" Shelford, Ian Jones and Inga Tuigamala.

The Australians played at the same venue two years later and managed to eke out a rather more hard-fought 14-6 victory.

The Connacht Branch did confirm they were in discussions with South Africa and were hoping for a successful resolution to the talks.