Graphic: England's other 1st XV

England’s worst fears came to haunt them yesterday and the solution, it seems, lies wrapped in the name of the unconvincing rugby league convert, Andy Farrell. Neither Olly Barkley nor Jonny Wilkinson was passed fit for the match against South Africa in the Stade de France tomorrow night, so Farrell will step in as No 10 and first-choice kicker.

How much of the fly-half duties Farrell will take on and how much will be shared with Mike Catt remains to be seen. Yet in England’s biggest international since the World Cup final four years ago, they are asking Farrell to take on responsibilities for which his experience is negligible.

His time as a rugby union stand-off amounts to one match for Saracens A and, while he had an impressive record as a place-kicker in rugby league, he would barely have had to line up kicks from 50 metres-plus, which are staple in union.

So heavily are the burdens piling on this relative newcomer to the 15-man game that you wonder if they ever considered throwing in the captaincy for good measure. That honour goes to Martin Corry, who is big on leadership skills, but, for the purposes of this week, not much good as a goalkicker.

So bare is England’s cupboard in that department that were Farrell to get injured or fail to hit the required standards, the No 2 kicker tomorrow is, well, anyone’s guess; probably Andy Gomarsall, who is on the bench. Catt has at least kicked at international level, but that was long ago and without much distinction, and his lower back is no longer up to it.

The picture is so complicated for England because the injuries to Wilkinson and Barkley are relatively minor, sufficiently so for the management to want to keep them in France and not send for a replacement. Wilkinson is back training and kicking — although not with the right foot that he injured — and he is confident of playing in the match against Samoa on Saturday week. Yet as each day passes, the absence of Toby Flood from this World Cup squad appears increasingly costly.

A shred of good news is that Mathew Tait has recovered from stomach trouble and is fit to take his place among the replacements. The bench is an item of rare interest, containing as it does two scrum halves, presumably on account of Gomarsall’s kicking, Peter Richards’s (limited) experience as the centre and the fact that alternatives are so few.

For better news, England had to look across Paris, where the Springboks were coming to terms with the information that hit them in the early hours, the suspension of Schalk Burger for four matches after a dangerous tackle on Junior Poluleuligaga, the Samoa scrum half, on Sunday. However, unlike England, who have decided not to challenge the suspension of Phil Vickery, the South Africa management lodged an appeal against the decision that will be heard this morning.

Burger was replaced in the South Africa starting line-up by Wikus van Heerden. At best, the South Africans will hope for a reduction, rather than a lifting, of the suspension, so while England are entitled to lick their manifold wounds, they will at least know that their opposition are shorn of a number of key players: Burger, Jean de Villiers, who is injured and has gone home, and Pierre Spies, the prodigiously talented No 8 who was counted out of World Cup contention with a pulmonary disease.

Jake White, the Springboks coach, said yesterday that he was “shocked” by the Burger decision, but added that his team’s chances would not suffer. “As the competition unfolds, it’s about how you adapt as a group,” he said.

Poor England are adapting as fast as they can go, but still the issues mount. Yesterday they were consulting the rules to see how they could respond were they to suffer a last-minute pre-match injury to a prop. With Vickery banned, one crocked prop would leave England down to two and IRB rules forbid an international match from proceeding unless a squad of 22 contains a complement of three. A standby prop may be flown out just in case.

England’s situation is not helped by the fact that South Africa are “the form side in the world” — and that is the assessment of Rob Andrew, the RFU’s director of elite rugby, no less. Tomorrow’s match, he said, “is probably one of the biggest challenges these players have ever faced, collectively and as individuals. I, for one, believe they will respond.”

If they do, it will be in no small measure down to Farrell. “This is a wonderful situation for him to prove all the doubters what a player he is,” Andrew said. “If ever any one man had an opportunity to show what he is made of, this is it.”