South Africa winger Bryan Habana passes the ball during a training session at Alain Mimoun Stadium of Noisy Le Grand, in the eastern outskirts of Paris. South Africa face England at the Stade de France in Saint Denis today. - AP

PARIS (AP):

TWO FLY halves or two inside centres? Take your pick. England will field Mike Catt and Andy Farrell as rotating midfielders against South Africa at the Rugby World Cup today, their biggest game since they won the title in Sydney four years ago.

Coach Brian Ashton has been forced into this move - revolutionary by England's standards - because his two best fly halves, Jonny Wilkinson and Olly Barkley, have been ruled out of the game by injury.

Facing one of the best four teams in the championship in the top game of Group A, Ashton has to find a way of unlocking the South African defence and kick goals, quite apart from stemming the flow of Springbok moves towards his own team's line.

So he's come up with the Farrell-Catt solution.

"They will both be playing as inside backs and that's all I will say," Ashton said yesterday at the pre-match news conference at Versailles. "I said they would be both playing as inside backs."

Going to do our best

Asked who would wear the number 10 shirt, he replied: "It doesn't matter does it? All right, Catt at 10, Farrell at 12."

Catt, a veteran of the 2003 World Cup triumph who turns 36 on Monday, said it was up to he and Farrell to make the rotation work.

"I think Faz and I are going to chop andchange and, as long as we're clear on what we're doing, and understand what we're trying to do, Faz and I are just going to try and control the game," he said.

"We are the main decision makers and it's down to us to put ourselves in the right parts of the pitch."

It also means that Farrell should be England's main kicker even though he had barely taken a penalty or a conversion since he moved from rugby league two years ago nor used his left foot to launch positional kicks.

Improvisation

Asked who takes the kicks if Farrell gets injured, Ashton said the team would improvise.

"We'll deal with that situation if it happens on the day," he said. "You know Mike Catt kicks at goal - he's not kicked for a long time. (Replacement scrumhalf) Andy Gomarsall kicks at goal and he's kicked for England. Both have done, but we'll deal with it if it happens on the field."

Whatever happens, there will be no sign of Wilkinson on the field or bench, he said.

"He's not playing tomorrow night. He's not in the 22," the England coach said. "We said that on Wednesday and why I have to repeat that I'm not quite sure. He's not playing. He's not fit to start training until next week.

"He'll be fine for the (September 22) Samoa game."

Buger suspended

By then, England could be staring at the possibility of first-round elimination while 1995 champions South Africa likely will be cruising into the quarter-finals and giving their biggest three rivals - New Zealand, Australia and France - a warning that they want the title back.

The Springboks are forced to face the English without flank forward Schalk Burger, who is suspended. But at least they gained a good result yestersday when Burger's four-game suspension for a high tackle on Samoa's Junior Polu was cut to two. That means he misses the Group A games against England and Tonga, but returns for the September 30 match against the United States Eagles.

Flanker Wickus van Heerden comes in for Burger, the 2004 World Player of the Year, while utility Francois Steyn, whose prodigiously long drop goals have won Tests for South Africa, will replace the injured Jean de Villiers at No. 12.

Os du Randt, the lone Springbok from the 1995 champions still playing, said Burger's absence last year because of a serious neck injury had allowed South Africa to find enough adequate backrow replacements.

"It is always bad to lose Schalk, but we played without him last year," Du Randt said. "We have a guy like Wickus (van Heerden) coming into his place that will do really well. I don't think you will ever substitute Schalk, but we will just have to cope with that and do the best we can."