England bungle way to victory

Pool A/England 28 USA 10:  Brian Ashton's face at the post-match press conference required no words to express his emotions following England's victory at the Stade Felix Bollaert on Saturday. It's just as well because the England coach was in taciturn form, refusing repeated entreaties to spell out just how disappointed he felt.

While acknowledging his dissatisfaction with his team's display he wasn't about to personalise his frustration for the media.

"There is no point in dwelling on what happened tonight because we face into the most massive game in six days' time since I took over," he said in a reference to the clash with South Africa on Friday.

In the confines of the England team room he's likely to be much more critical of his team's effort, which at times bordered on the abject. His main cavil will be with the back play; England - with the exception of outhalf Olly Barkley, deservedly named match of the match - created little.

Perhaps it's pertinent to focus not on England's ability or otherwise to breach the first line of defence but on the frequency with which they spurned huge overlaps. Some of the option-taking beggared belief, and they were largely incapable of the basic requirement of running straight and drawing the defender before offloading.

They managed three tries, one from a cross-kick - Mike Catt probably unwilling to trust those outside him to exploit the four-on-one overlap - which Jason Robinson collected unopposed, another from the quick thinking of Tom Rees, who tapped a free kick close to the American line and muscled over.

Only Barkley's try showed the value of soft hands and good angles, the supporting cameos coming from Catt and secondrow Ben Kay.

To contextualise England's display, it's instructive to note that a Munster team missing their Test players beat almost the same US team - Luke Gross's late withdrawal here with a back injury meant there were 14 survivors - in a pre-tournament warm-up in Chicago.

This is not to denigrate the Eagles' performance in Lens. They suffered the rough edge of a couple of refereeing decisions and sometimes reduced England to scrambling defence.

Their captain, Mike Hercus, encapsulated his side's mood: "I am very proud of the guys but a little bit disappointed that we didn't take some of the opportunities we had. Overall though I'm happy."

So he should be - the loudest cheer of the afternoon came when Eagles replacement prop Matekitonga Moeakiola forced his way over for a try - as several red-shirted Eagles soared, notably the outstanding Todd Clever, Louis Sanfill, Henry Bloomfield and the hard-running midfield combination of Vahafolau Esika and Paul Emerick.

Their inside-out defensive alignment looked precarious at times and against more skilled opponents will need a little revision.

As for England, they quickly need to discover a rhythm and purpose to their patterns.

They were pedestrian in the extreme and largely predictable. Senior players need to take responsibility, and they have to adopt a heads-up philosophy rather than thumbing the playbook in a welter of prearranged gambits.

Barkley's performance has taken a little of the sting out of the hand-wringing over Jonny Wilkinson's ankle ligament. Ashton simply reiterated a medical decision on the player would be taken tomorrow.

Yet for all their problems, England have a chance to buff their credentials as contenders when facing the Springboks at the Stade de France on Friday night.

The measure of the squad will be whether they come out fighting or suffocate under the pressure.

Scoring sequence: 5 mins: Barkley pen, 3-0; 7: Hercus pen, 3-3; 20: Barkley pen, 6-3; 30: Barkley pen, 9-3; 34: Robinson try, 14-3; 40(+3): Barkley try, Barkley con, 21-3. 49: Rees try, Barkley con, 28-3; 78: Moeakiola try, Hercus con, 28-10.

ENGLAND: M Cueto; J Lewsey, J Noon, M Catt, J Robinson; O Barkley, S Perry; A Sheridan, M Regan, P Vickery (capt); S Shaw, B Kay; J Worsley, T Rees, L Dallaglio. Replacements: P Richards for Perry (60 mins); G Chuter for Regan, M Stevens for Vickery, M Corry for Shaw, A Farrell for Catt (all 64 mins); M Tait for Robinson (68 mins); L Moody for Worsley (70 mins). Sinbinned: L Dallaglio (78 mins).

USA: C Wyles; S Sika, P Emerick, V Esikia, T Ngwenya; M Hercus (capt), C Erskine; M MacDonald, O Lentz, C Osentowski; A Parker, M Mangan; L Stanfill, T Clever, H Bloomfield. Replacements: B Burdette for Lentz, V Malifa for Sika (51 mins); I Basauri for Bloomfield (57 mins); M Moeakiola for MacDonald (60 mins); H Mexted for Mangan (70 mins). Sinbinned: V Esikia (30 mins); P Emerick (84 mins).

Referee: J Kaplan (South Africa).