Wilkinson: Wanted to switch ball

Law 9.8.1 states the kicker must convert tries with the same ball that was touched down unless it is defective - but Wilkinson twice sought to switch it.

A World Cup spokesman said England were warned to "desist" at half-time and did so.

England manager Martin Johnson explained Wilkinson thought one of the balls was slightly less than perfect so wanted to swap it and insisted this was "not an unusual occurrence".

The incident is understood to have been noted in the match commissioner's report and is being looked into by tournament officials.

England could be fined if they are deemed to have breached either the World Cup participation agreement or the laws of the game.

But if the match officials are deemed to have dealt with the issue correctly at the time there is unlikely to be any action against England.

"We will review the operations aspect of the match and wait for the reports to come before making a decision, we are reviewing it," said an International Rugby Board spokesman.

England have already received one warning from World Cup officials after the numbers on the back of their shirts peeled off during their victory against Argentina.