'Perception issue' worries Johnson

Martin Johnson claimed England are suffering from a "perception problem" after Wales kept their RBS 6 Nations title defence on course with a record-equalling eighth consecutive championship victory.

England lost the penalty count 12-8 and had both Mike Tindall and Andy Goode sin-binned in Cardiff, taking their yellow card count to eight in just three matches. Wales took full advantage to win 23-15 with Stephen Jones kicking five penalties and Leigh Halfpenny adding a long-range strike to his fourth Test try.

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

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

England hit back from a 9-0 deficit and a shocking start to push Wales hard with a spirited performance and tries from Paul Sackey and Delon Armitage.

But ultimately those indiscretions proved costly and Johnson is concerned England's reputation is starting to precede them.

"I am down because we lost. 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," added Johnson.

"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."