News: Declan Kidney would appear to have been considering a number of options over the weekend regarding his next coaching role, with decisions about his position and the impending vacancy at Ulster to be made by the middle of the week.

It is believed the former Munster coach has been offered the opportunity to succeed Alan Solomons at Ulster when the South African's three-year tenure finishes at the end of this season before his departure for Northampton.

But it is also possible Kidney has been offered the coaching job at Leicester Tigers (or at any rate is on their short list), as well, of course, as the IRFU's offer to fill a new title of performance manager - age grade rugby.

Kidney was one of five domestic candidates interviewed last Monday and Tuesday in Belfast, along with Ulster assistant coach and Irish Under-21 coach Mark McCall, Leinster assistant coach Willie Anderson, Connacht assistant coach John McKee and former Irish under-21 coach Brian McLoughlin.

Kidney has emerged as the favourite to succeed Solomons, with the IRFU hierarchy especially keen for him to remain within the fold now that Kidney is no longer part of O'Sullivan's long-term plans.

The Irish assistant coach watched Geordan Murphy play his third comeback game for Leicester in a friendly at Northampton on Saturday. Coincidentally, word form the Welford Road club is that Kidney has met Leicester chief executive Peter Wheeler as one of the candidates to succeed the departed Dean Richards.

Meanwhile, a proposed knockout tournament involving the world's leading nations is to be considered at a meeting in Sydney this week, according to a New Zealand newspaper.

The meeting of the South African, New Zealand and Australian unions will discuss the proposal of a Nine Nations competition that would them and the Six Nations teams.

The tournament would be played every two years before the World Cup and would see the nine nations form three groups of three teams with the group winners and the best second-placed side going into the semi-finals, then a grand final.

South African rugby has been told it must drop the Springbok as its official emblem, although the animal could still be worn on the national team's jersey.

The South African Sports Commission has ratified a decision that rugby fall in line with the country's other sporting codes and adopt the king protea - a flower - as its official emblem.