Martin Johnson refused to blame injury for Saturday's 18-9 defeat to Australia at Twickenham and vowed England would return a stronger team against Argentina next weekend.

England have lost half their first-choice squad for the entire autumn and fielded an unfamiliar side for this Cook Cup showdown.

But despite securing reams of possession, they failed to threaten the Wallabies' line at any point and lacked imagination in attack.

England face Argentina next Saturday with Johnson convinced his squad is strong enough turn the corner, despite throwing away a winnable match this afternoon.

"We've not talked about the injuries. That was the first game that team has played together but that doesn't excuse some things," he said.

"We will be better for that game. We'll improve on this for next week. We could have given ourselves a better chance of winning.

"We believe these guys are good enough to play in Test matches. Australia had been through the Tri-Nations and played a Test last weekend, we haven't.

"The leaders of this team have done a great job getting this team together."

England led 9-5 at half-time and looked comfortable, despite conceding a try to scrum-half and man of the match Will Genia.

But Australia dominated the second half with a second try from Adam Ashley-Cooper and eight points from the boot of Matt Giteau.

"We started very brightly and took the points when they were there," said Johnson. "It was disappointing to concede the try just before half-time and in the second half we struggled to get out of our own half.

"Both tries weren't good scores to give away but lots of positives came out of it, some of the young guys did pretty well.

"I told the guys they had played a battle-hardened team who had just come off the back of last weekend's match against New Zealand.

"That showed a bit at the end. They were that little bit slicker and more used to the Test match pace than we were."

One encouraging aspect was Jonny Wilkinson's performance, the Toulon fly-half kicking nine points and producing some signature big hits.

It was his first Test outing since March last year but it looked as though he had never been away.

"Jonny is a world-class player. It's fantastic to have him back and playing well. He's disappointed with the result," said Johnson.

"What he's been through has made him more experienced and has put him in a better stead. There's still a lot to come from him. He's only 30 and has missed a lot of rugby. He has tremendous presence."

The victory was only Australia's second in seven matches and coach Robbie Deans hopes it will ignite a change in fortunes for his side, who finished bottom of the Tri-Nations table.

Ireland at Croke Park are next up on their grand slam tour and Deans insisted today's performance will have restored some confidence.

"I'm proud of the boys. We had to work really hard in the first half," he said. "We had a sense that second half was coming but haven't shown a lot of patience and belief in recent times.

"But this time the guys showed a lot of courage and worked hard. They used a bit of nous.

"England threw everything at us. They tried width, the short route and also tried to turn us but the boys stood up really well.

"Sooner or later after being knocked down you have got to get up and hopefully we can create a winning habit now.

"Playing Ireland at Croke Park next weekend will be challenging but it's a great opportunity for us to push on."

Giteau meanwhile said the Wallabies knew the openings would come despite trailing at the break. He told Sky Sports 2: "It didn't feel comfortable at any stage, it's a different England side looking to attack and they opened us up a few times."

Asked what was said in the dressing room at half-time, with Australia 9-5 behind, Giteau added: "We felt we were doing enough but giving away too many penalties.

"We just needed to secure the ball and we felt our opportunities would come."

Try-scorer Genia said: "The boys told me about playing at Twickenham and coming off a winner is an amazing feeling.

"We just wanted to work right through the game and we'd have them at the back end."

Ashley-Cooper added: "This is such a special tour for us, a grand slam tour, and we're taking one game at a time.

"It's pleasing to come away with the win."

England's Lewis Moody felt Australia's recent matches had given them the edge. "We battled hard all game - Australia were slicker than we were. We defended a lot of the second half, and the tries we conceded were quite soft in the end. But they were more clinical than us on the day.

"The ball they had, they used better. We never gave up, and it was frustrating to lose at the end when it was close with 20 minutes to go.

"We've got to build on it from here."

Wilkinson added: "We spent a lot of the game defending against a lot of momentum. When you give a very good side that kind of ball in that area of the field, to do what we did defensively was great.

"The great thing is this is a fantastic squad in attitude and energy and where we are prepared to take this.

"It's our first turn, and we're going to use it to bring us tighter."

Speaking about his long-awaited return to action in an England shirt, Wilkinson added: "Coming back here with the support and atmosphere, it's amazing; it's a fantastic feeling. That's why it doesn't feel like you've been away.

"You prepare for it as best you can and give it absolutely everything. It's great to be back and in front of a crowd like that - and we want more of that."