Johnson: Much to ponder

Johnson was bristling with frustration after England's Rugby World Cup preparations stalled at the Millennium Stadium with a performance devoid of invention and intelligence.

Not every player will come in for criticism. Alex Corbisiero, Dan Cole and Louis Deacon produced impressive individual performances in a dominant forwards effort.

But England wasted that platform. Wales absorbed a torrent of largely one-dimensional pressure and then picked off their visitors, with a try and two late penalties from James Hook.

The result may have been skewed by the fact England, according to Toby Flood but not Johnson, took a pre-match decision to use the occasion to test out their moves ahead of the World Cup.

Consequently, England spurned some simple shots at goal but Flood branded their inability to score a try from the mountain of possession as "shameful" and "embarrassing", leaving Johnson with "plenty of food for thought".

The bad news for his wife and two children is that Johnson is on holiday this week, ahead of finalising England's 30-man World Cup squad next Monday.

"It is a good time for a break (but) not with me," said Johnson, who expects to still be as angry when the squad meet up again next Sunday.

"We should be frustrated. This was the strangest Test match I have seen in some ways, to be so dominant for 40 minutes. We have just got to land the killer blow.

"We made 12 changes and lots of players were getting their first starts in a while. There is more to our attacking game, there is more fluidity.

"It hasn't shaken my belief because if we hadn't done anything, if we hadn't dominated a large part of the game and created the chances then you would be disappointed. It is just frustrating.

"We had a chance to win a Test match comfortably. We didn't do it. I don't think anyone is particularly happy."

England felt they should have been awarded a penalty try after sending the Welsh pack reeling at five successive scrums on their own line.

Matt Banahan, a late replacement for injured wing Chris Ashton, then failed to score in the corner under pressure from Shane Williams and Hook, who did a brilliant job of stripping the ball from the England wing.

But for all their possession England lacked a creative touch, relying too often on trying to bulldoze their way through a well-drilled and fit Welsh defensive line.

Wales spent 20 minutes of the second half with 14 men but still England could find no way through, failing to utilise strike runners like Ben Foden and Mark Cueto.

England made 12 incursions into the Welsh 12 and failed to score a single point from any of them.

There were also hints of a breakdown in communication. At some point, Johnson argued, a decision should have been made to secure the win.

The previous weekend, when England again struggled to break down Wales at Twickenham, Jonny Wilkinson landed two drop goals.

That kept the scoreboard moving, gave England some reward for their play and, ultimately in a game finishing 23-19, proved the difference.

"The players make the decisions out there but ultimately we have got to get points on the board," said Johnson.

"We went into the game to play a Test match. At some point, you have got to score points."

Johnson and the England players were frustrated by the way referee Alain Rolland policed the breakdown.

Privately, England felt that man-of-the-match Sam Warburton was allowed to get away with daylight robbery in the tackle area.

But all of that raises questions about England's on-field leadership and a concerning inability to adapt to the game situation and the referee's interpretations.

"The game was refereed differently (to last week) and we need to be smarter in how we interpret what is going on referee-wise," said Johnson.

"We have got to know when we are in a battle at the breakdown and deal with it."

Lewis Moody is confident he will be fit to captain England at the World Cup and Johnson says he just about knows the make-up of his squad.

Johnson used 27 starters in the two Wales matches. At least one of them will miss out on the final party bound for New Zealand.

Ben Youngs, Andrew Sheridan and Ashton are recovering from injuries but will all travel while Lee Mears, who made two bench appearances, is set to be England's third hooker.

Veteran lock Simon Shaw and flanker Hendre Fourie, who started yesterday, could be the most vulnerable as Johnson seeks to strike the right balance.

"That performance in the second half could have hurt a few individuals," said flanker Tom Wood.

"Hopefully the coaches will assess everyone over the whole eight week camp. We are aiming to peak in a couple of months' time. We have time to right those wrongs."

England face Ireland in their final warm-up match in Dublin on August 27.

Their World Cup campaign begins against Argentina on September 10.