In the end, no need for South African spies… At around 2.30pm on Wednesday, the Ligue Nationale de Rugby made quite a blunder. The French body published an article on its website revealing… the France line-up to face the Springboks.

In no time at all, the mistake was relayed on social media and in the press. Above all, it came less than a day before the official announcement of the line-up by Fabien Galthié on Thursday at 11am.

Rest assured, the line-up is the same one that has been touted for several days and there are no surprises to report. That said, the blunder is still likely to have set a few teeth on edge at Marcoussis. The LNR then deleted its post.