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MARSEILLE - Coach Brian Ashton criticised his England team after they were beaten 22-9 by France in their final warm-up game before next month's World Cup.
"We played well enough in the first 15 minutes but then we started giving away penalties and we had a man (Simon Shaw) sin-binned. If you put all that together there is no way you are going to beat France in Marseille," Ashton said after Saturday's bruising encounter.
"Last week there was anger in the dressing room (after a 21-15 defeat by France at Twickenham) because the players felt they should have won that game but this time there is disappointment because they realise they did not play enough to win."
Although England escaped without any serious injury, they did nothing to suggest they had a serious chance of retaining their title at the World Cup starting in France on Sept. 7.
"Phil Vickery is concussed, Martin Corry has a bent knee and Shaun Perry has a dead leg but all will be fit for the World Cup", Ashton said.
While England had dominated in the scrums and lineouts at Twickenham, they could put France under pressure only for the first 20 minutes in Marseille and then let the hosts take control in every area of the game.
"My biggest disappointment is that the basics of our game, which went well against Wales and against France at Twickenham, did not go nearly as well today," Ashton said.
"Our job now is to work hard to make sure we get it right at the World Cup."
France, by contrast, were in confident mood after beating their arch-rivals for the second time in as many weeks.
"When you play England it's always going to be a challenge and we lived up to it", said France captain Raphael Ibanez.
"That's not our problem," the Wasps hooker said when asked whether he thought England could still win the World Cup.
"We know what we want and the only thing we're interested in is the way we play."
- NZP, REUTERS
