Connacht's immediate future remains unclear tonight after a marathon meeting of the IRFU in Dublin on cost cutting measures.
Connacht's 30 professional players are preparing for the first-leg of the Parker Pen Challenge Cup quarter-final at against Pontypridd in Athlone on Saturday, a match that some have suggested could well be their last.
The IRFU had been expected to confirm the province's dissolution during its monthly committee meeting at the Berkeley Court hotel. However, after a lengthy four-and-a-half hour session, all the IRFU could confirm was that "no decision had been taken" regarding Connacht's status.
Earlier today, IRFU spokesman John Redmond confirmed that all four provinces were instructed last month to make financial sacrifices but that only one - Connacht - had been threatened with disbandment.