Numbers in the air as Boks give Ireland a bomb to defuse 

Innovation and risk combine to create plenty of reaction ahead of Saturday's showdown but Nienaber's insistence that nothing has changed isn't quite right

BRAINS TRUST: South Africa Director Of Rugby Rassie Erasmus and South Africa Head Coach Jacques Nienaber. Pic:INPHO/James Crombie

The byline here might reference the French capital but the Springboks, like Ireland, are spending their days leading up to tomorrow’s Pool B showdown at a remove from a city that was equal parts flooded with rain and traffic and noise yesterday.

The visit of King Charles III, and his address to the Senate, was grabbing the headlines before Fabien Galthié’s French team found itself assuming the spotlight later in the evening as they faced Namibia down in Marseille.