Surely this has been hyped out of all proportion ??!!
I watched the game and though I did not notice the "switching" I never saw anything untoward in the way that the ball was changed. Wilkinson made it obvious that in his opinion the ball was in some way damaged and requested another. I don't think that they were trying to pull a fast one. The worst thing that I can't think is that the people involved did not know the Laws ( yes Laws - not rules in RU).
This same thing happens in tennis all the time when the server examines several balls before selecting what he/she believes to be the best one.
I am looking forward to tomorrow's England v Scotland game enormously. I am not kidding myself that we will be treated to an all-action open running game. It will be a tactical war of attrition. The World Cup really starts tomorrow as far as I am concerned.
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sj