Ashton's World Cup plans shattered

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England followed a record 58-10 loss in Bloemfontein with a 55-22 thrashing at Loftus Versfeld here yesterday, conceding 38 points after leading at half-time for their eighth away defeat on the trot.

Ashton now has three Tests to sort out his team before their World Cup pool games, which include a vital rematch against South Africa. Defeat would to a tough quarter-final and a possible semi-final against favourites New Zealand.

"I am disappointed," said Ashton. "You expect international players to put bodies on the line for the full 80 minutes. You can't expect to play for 50 minutes and beat sides of this calibre.

"One or two players showed that they are capable of competing at this level but, overall, I'm disappointed. There are one or two who maybe won't make the World Cup training squad."

Asked how many players he could name for his first warm-up game against Wales in August, Ashton said only five or six.

"I have only been in the job since January," he added. "Normally you get four years to work on a World Cup, or at least two years to sift through the squad and two years to prepare. I'm doing it in eight months which makes life difficult."

Skipper Jonny Wilkinson said: "We know if we get things right we can beat any side in the world. It was always going to be a tough tour and we have learned so much on this trip, probably more than South Africa."