South Africa's captain Corne Krige arrived in Australia yesterday admitting he had been "irresponsible" to label his England counterpart Martin Johnson "one of the dirtiest captains in world rugby" before next week's highly-charged World Cup pool game between the two.

Krige claimed he had made his comment off the record before his team's departure and it should not have been printed. However, neither the Springbok captain nor his coach, Rudi Straeuli, said anything to indicate their side would be in apologetic mood when they renew physical acquaintance with England on Saturday week.

"It was irresponsible on my side, but also on the journalist's side," said Krige, stopping short of suggesting he had been misquoted. "I don't want to say what I believe or what I don't believe, but it is not my place to comment on him in the papers."

Straeuli, though, could not resist another sly dig at Johnson's disciplinary record. "Look who's been yellow-carded the most, who's been off the field the most," he said, insisting his own team's discipline was improving.

"We want to keep within the boundaries of the laws," agreed Krige. "We're working very hard on our discipline and any player stepping out of line will be punished."

The beleaguered Straeuli, whose tournament preparations have been undermined by racial tensions within the squad that led to the expulsion of the lock Geo Cronje, also argued that there would be marginally more pressure on their opponents on Saturday week.

England's players, who followed their first formal training session yesterday with a cool-down session in the Indian Ocean, would prefer to avoid public slanging matches.

"There's a lot said in the media and, sure, we read it, but games aren't won in the press," said centre Will Greenwood. "Opposition players can say what they like, but the time when that would affect the players is long gone.

"The South Africans are fully entitled to say what they like. I suppose you could call Krige one of the shortest captains in world rugby. There are 20 captains in the world so there are loads of things you could say about them."

Johnson was also defended by his Leicester colleague Ben Kay, who believes neither side wants a repeat of the spiteful incidents that marred England's 53-3 win at Twickenham last November.

"I don't think either team will be going into this game worrying about cheap shots. They'll both be trying to win the game," said Kay. "Johnno does take a lot of stick but in international rugby you expect that. He's a great player and people are going to do what they can to put him off his game.

"Forwards don't usually tend to moan about what other forwards do and I think the media might have hyped up what Krige said. The last two times I've played with Johnno he's stood on my face, given me stitches and punched me in the nose, but I think he's just clumsy."

Kay was also undeterred by recent tales of a shark attack not far from where England ventured into the surf. Moreover, judging by the security presence at training, England will be amply protected on land during their stint in Perth.

Five police motorcycles and two zealous security men on quad bikes hovered around the otherwise peaceful grounds of Hale School yesterday, enough to deter any spies lurking in the gum trees. Attempts were even made to eject a handful of innocent, camera-less spectators from an "open" session. It was hard to understand why, as the rest of the audience comprised a couple of dozen people, four television crews and a collie dog.

After 20 minutes of watching England's finest stretch their hamstrings, however, everyone was ejected like schoolboys caught smoking behind the bike sheds.

The Wasps centre Stuart Abbott, suffering from post-flight stiffness, took no part in the session. This morning England will name their side to face Georgia in Perth on Sunday.