Target acquired.

Munster are lining up Lions defence coach JP Ferreira to replace Jacques Nienaber at the southern province according to a report in The Irish Independent this morning.

Nienaber departed the province last month along with former director of rugby Rassie Erasmus, with Johann van Graan installed as the new head coach.

While it was initially though van Graan would handle the defensive duties himself until the end of the season, it appears he is looking to fill the vacancy ASAP.

“There’s one or two names as possibilities but I want to make sure that I get the right person here that will fit in with the way Munster do things,” he said last week.

“We’re thankful for Joe (Schmidt) – we’ve been in contact all along, Andy (Farrell) is here for today and tomorrow. The good thing is there was 14 players in the Irish squad. He and Jacques (Nienaber) also worked together pretty closely.”

Ferreira has been at the Lions in Johannesburg since 2007 and has survived the coming and going of four head coaches in his time there. He was credited as being a critical figure in the Lions run to the Super Rugby final in 2016.

He was also involved with the Springboks on their November tour last year when he would have worked with Van Graan.