Penalties cost us - Johnson

Johnson: four defeats in six as England team manager

There is a perception issue now. It is self-perpetuating. We have to sort it out. We have to be whiter than white when we play.

Martin Johnson
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Martin Johnson feels England's reputation is starting to precede them with referees after watching his side lose 23-15 to Wales in Cardiff.

England were heavily penalised at the breakdown by South African official Jonathan Kaplan and lost a man in each half - Mike Tindall and Andy Goode - to the sin-bin.

The visitors were on the wrong end of the penalty count by 12-8 at the Millennium Stadium and have now received eight yellow cards in their last three matches.

Wales made use of the numerical advantage they enjoyed for a quarter of the contest to secure their eighth straight win in the RBS Six Nations and keep alive hopes of back-to-back Grand Slams.

England came back from a 9-0 deficit to push Wales hard with a spirited performance that included tries from Paul Sackey and Delon Armitage.

But Wales did just enough - Stephen Jones kicked five penalties and Leigh Halfpenny added a long-range three pointer to his fourth Test try - to leave England to rue their indiscipline.

"There is a perception issue now," claimed Johnson. "It is self-perpetuating. We have to sort it out. We have to be whiter than white when we play.

"I spoke to the referee (Kaplan) on Friday and he said he had no issue with us as a team.

"It's a perception problem because we were down 5-0 in the penalty count very early. Playing with 14 players is very difficult."

Composure

Despite England producing arguably their most encouraging performance of Johnson's six-Test reign as team manager, the hard facts reveal four defeats during his time in charge.

"I am down because we lost," added Johnson. "It was a Test we could have won. Despite the penalty count, despite the yellow cards we could have turned them over if we had executed a bit better and kept our composure.

"It was a Test match for either side to win really and it came down to self-belief.

"We scored two tries but we gave away 18 points in penalties. Ultimately we could have overcome it. We missed a couple of penalties and one at the end (by Toby Flood) which could have put a lot of pressure on them.

"But there were a lot of good things. We created openings and defensively Mike Ford's system was fantastic.

"Will we be better for the experience? Yes hopefully. Winning is a habit and it is something we need to get into and learn how to do.

"They put in enough effort to win a Test match but you need composure in the heat of the moment to finish it off. We didn't quite have that."

Wales head coach Warren Gatland praised the performance of his captain Ryan Jones, who returned from a calf injury after missing last weekend's win in Scotland.

"It was a tough Test match. I said at half-time (when it was 9-8), 'We are in a battle here' and we needed to respond and I thought we did," said Gatland.

Motivational

"Ryan had a huge game. It was the best I have heard him speak in the changing room before the game. He was really motivational."

Despite ending up on the losing side, England flanker Joe Worsley was named man-of-the-match for his lung-bursting defensive effort.

Shaun Edwards, Wales' defence coach and Worsley's boss at Wasps, was impressed by the 70-cap veteran's performance.

"People said it was going to be a comfortable victory for Wales but as soon as I saw Joe Worsley's name on the team-sheet I knew that would be a million miles from the truth," said Edwards.

"There is no better big-game player than Joe Worsley. I have seen him in Heineken Cup finals and Guinness Premiership finals.

"Finally you saw Joe Worsley at his best with an England shirt on. He has played for England lots of times and he has not been the Joe I know but today I thought he was immense.

"England showed why they are the most successful team in the World Cup this century. When their backs are to the wall they rise to the challenge.

"But I think for long periods today we were comfortable. In the first 20 minutes we were very dynamic and very explosive and in the last 10 minutes we were in control."