It is peaceful on the banks of the Loire, serene enough to lull anyone into a sense of false security. Tours is a lovely, mellow place, with a beguiling old town, and even when journalists arrive too early for Ireland’s press conferences in the suburbs there is a patch of nearby woodland where they can sit and listen to the breeze gently rustling the trees. If it feels like the quiet before the storm, that’s because it is.
Everyone knows what is coming over the hill in Paris on Saturday night and the collision threatens to be mighty. Every Rugby World Cup has a defining pool fixture and, in many ways, Ireland versus South Africa is that and more. The world’s No 1-ranked side against the defending world champions, irresistible force up against largely immovable object. Mellow is not a word that springs instantly to mind.
