Wales 19 - 9 England: English failure to turn possession into tries 'shameful'

TOBY Flood branded England's inability to score tries in their 19-9 defeat to Wales as "embarrassing" and "shameful".

The Leicester fly-half was brutally honest after England's back division failed to capitalise on a mountain of possession and territory. Wales were forced to make almost twice as many tackles but England were too predictable in trying to bulldoze their way over the line.

Nick Easter, the Harlequins No 8, admitted England were "not smart enough" in possession.

James Hook then showed England how to be ruthless, scoring the only try of the match and kicking two late penalties to hand Wales a smash-and-grab-victory.

England manager Martin Johnson was furious and Flood said: "I don't want to use the word embarrassing - but it is a little bit embarrassing.

"It hurts, the fact we couldn't score a try. It is shameful. We can use harsh words because if you want to win a World Cup, tries are massive."

England turned down penalty shots at goal and Flood did not attempt a single drop goal, which would at least have been some reward for their dominance and kept the scoreboard ticking over.

Jonny Wilkinson had done just that at Twickenham the previous weekend in England's 23-19 victory over Wales.

But Flood revealed England had a deliberate plan at the Millennium Stadium to put into practice some of the moves they have been working on during their seven-week training camp.

The fact it did not work - and that none of the senior leaders in the team recognised the need for a change of approach during the match - is now a serious concern for Johnson.

"We could have gone out there and stretched the lead and kicked goals but we made the decision to go out there and see if things were working," said Flood. "I am not too fazed about the result. It is insignificant compared to the fact we haven't been able to score a try. That is the hardest thing for me. That left us in a position where we think there is a lot of work to do over the next two weeks. We turned the ball over too much in the red zone. We won't get that many opportunities in the World Cup. We have got to be more clinical there.

"There are a lot of things to work on, a lot of food for thought. We are really disappointed and frustrated."

Wales took the lead in the first minute thanks to a Rhys Priestland penalty but England hit back quickly through Flood after No 8 Easter won possession from a re-start.

Priestland restored the Welsh lead but the England forwards scrummaged powerfully and dominated the lineout. Flood kicked his second penalty and England looked certain to score a try when captain Mike Tindall broke the Welsh line just before the interval, only for the centre to lose possession of the ball.

Flood kicked another penalty early in the second half and Roberts was shown the yellow card for killing the ball, but Wales weathered the storm and enjoyed a spell of pressure on the English line.

After several phases of possession, Hook wriggled over from close range, adding the conversion to put the home side 13-9 ahead. England made several substitutions but looked bereft of ideas.

Hook's long-range penalty gave the hosts breathing space and, after Phillips was also sent to the sin-bin for killing the ball, the fullback kicked another long penalty to seal the victory.

England now have this week off before Johnson confirms his final 30-man World Cup squad on 22 August.

Scorers: Wales: Try: Hook. Con: Hook. Pens: Priestland 2, Hook 2. England: Pens: Flood 3.

Wales: J Hook (Perpignan); G North (Scarlets), J Roberts (Cardiff Blues), G Henson (unattached), Shane Williams (Ospreys); R Priestland (Scarlets), M Phillips (Bayonne); P James (Ospreys), L Burns (Newport Gwent Dragons), C Mitchell (Exeter), L Charteris (Newport Gwent Dragons), A-W Jones (Ospreys), D Lydiate (Newport Gwent Dragons), S Warburton (Cardiff Blues, capt), T Faletau (Newport Gwent Dragons). Substitutes used: H Bennett (Ospreys) for Burns 52, R Bevington (Ospreys) for James 69, J Turnbull (Scarlets) for Wyn Jones 60, Scott Williams (Scarlets) for Henson 31, A Brew (Newport Gwent Dragons) for Priestland 40. Not used: J Tipuric (Ospreys), T Knoyle (Scarlets).

England: B Foden (Northampton); M Banahan (Bath), M Tindall (Gloucester, capt), S Hape (London Irish), M Cueto (Sale Sharks); T Flood (Leicester), R Wigglesworth (Saracens); A Corbisiero (London Irish), S Thompson (Wasps), D Cole (Leicester), L Deacon (Leicester), C Lawes (Northampton), T Wood (Northampton), H Fourie (Sale Sharks), N Easter (Harlequins). Substitutes: L Mears (Bath) for Thompson 59, M Stevens (Saracens) for Corbisiero 59, T Palmer (Stade Francais) for Deacon 67, J Haskell (Black Rams) for Fourie 50, D Care (Harlequins) for Wigglesworth 29, C Hodgson (Saracens) for Flood 67, D Armitage (London Irish) for Tindall 59.