England v S Africa: England can only pray that 80 minutes on the field against South Africa today are less fraught than the 24 hours which preceded the first truly heavyweight encounter of the World Cup. Yesterday Matt Dawson and Richard Hill were both withdrawn from the squad, having been declared fit to play as late as Wednesday.

Both have been receiving intensive treatment for hamstring strains, but neither was able to train yesterday and Clive Woodward confirmed that the pair, who boast 114 caps between them, would be replaced in the starting line-up by Kyran Bracken and Lewis Moody, with Andy Gomarsall and Joe Worsley drafted on to the bench.

Bracken has played only 34 minutes of competitive rugby since June and suffered back spasms before each of England's last two games, so Woodward will be holding his breath during the pre-match warm-up. Having flown out the Bath scrumhalf Martyn Wood, only to send him home again, the head coach is more aware than anyone that England will be left without a specialist scrumhalf among their replacements should Bracken's problem flare up again.

There was always a suspicion that Woodward was, at best, whistling in the dark with his original team selection. How much easier it would have been to delay the final decision rather than feeding the media injury bulletins which ultimately proved embarrassingly misleading. If people raise sceptical eyebrows next time the coach assures them a player is fit to play, he has only himself to blame.

"I thought they'd be fit and they nearly are, but this is not the game to take any risks on. It was a no-brainer in the end," said Woodward.

Absolutely right, which is why the premature selection of Dawson, rated only 50-50 on Monday, was either misjudged or a calculated smokescreen.

The withdrawal of the 30-year-old Hill is a precaution worth taking, because the last thing England need is to lose their most consistent player for longer than strictly necessary.

Australians are familiar with the New South Wales mining town of Broken Hill, but England have not often experienced the rugby equivalent.

One of the defining moments of the 2001 Lions tour was the injury to the flanker during the second Test in Melbourne, but, in Moody, England at least have a player with plenty to offer in his own right.

Yesterday, though, was not the best of days for Woodward, whose patience was sorely tested when his squad's final training session was besieged by Australian TV crews following up a rumour Prince Harry would be present.

Amid farcical scenes, a helicopter carrying a crew from Channel 7 hovered overhead at one stage and England employed their team bus to try to block the views of cameramen trying to film their players. Prince Harry, due to attend today's game, was nowhere to be seen. "I wouldn't invite a member of the royal family to a final training session before we play South Africa," said an exasperated Woodward.

With the furore over England's mauling technique still bubbling away, there is absolutely no danger of Woodward or his team winning a popularity contest in Australia. John O'Neill, the chief executive of the Australian Rugby Union, suggested yesterday the pre-match sniping between teams was being done "to excess".

"Clive's always going on about dummy runners, so Eddie (Jones) goes on about the maul. But I think the referees are too smart for that," said O'Neill, in Perth to watch England's game, which will be refereed by Australia's Peter Marshall.

"Peter has been there and done that; he knows what the tactics are. He's pretty well immune from the propaganda machine and will apply the laws."