Jonny Wilkinson believes England need "to improve in every single area" if they are not to take another beating at Twickenham next weekend.

Wilkinson, making his first appearance for 18 months, scored all England's points on Saturday in an 18-9 defeat against Australia which began brightly but ultimately highlighted the inexperience of Martin Johnson's team.

And England's fly-half warned it will only get tougher over the next two weeks when they face Argentina next Saturday and New Zealand a week later.

Wilkinson said: "We have to improve in every single area. Argentina are an incredibly physical team. Massively fit, fast, powerful and hugely passionate and skilful. They are a team which surprise you week in and week out."

The 30-year-old should know considering he plays each week at Toulon alongside Argentinian stars such as Juan Fernandez Lobbe, Felipe Contepomi and Esteban Lozada.

"You watch these guys train and think they are world-class players and you think 'thank God they are on my side,"' said Wilkinson. "Unfortunately that will not be the case next week."

Instead, Wilkinson will have to make do once more with an England team which, with the exceptions of such as Lewis Moody and Tom Croft, struggled to match the intensity of a battle-hardened but hardly brilliant Australia.

England enjoyed 60% of the possession. They were on the right side of a 12-5 penalty count. They built the platform to get the job done and were the better side in an encouraging first half.

They just did not possess the technique under pressure, nor the wit and creativity to hurt Australia when the men in gold started to punch holes in their defence.

No-one tried harder than Wilkinson, who tackled with a fervour which belied the fact he had hopped from one treatment table to the next over the past six years.

There was a fizz in his passing, too, even if the kicking from hand at times was aimless. He was easily England's most potent performer.

Yet, Wilkinson being Wilkinson, he left the field blaming himself.

He said: "The initial reaction with me is to be devastated and it always will be. I never want that to change.

"You put on a white shirt and you go out and fire every shot you've got to make sure that when you come off the field you have done everything for your team.

"But as soon as you put a number 10 on your back the marker for your success is how the team does. You are the directional tool. Finding the answers is what the decision makers are there for.

"My job was to direct us towards a win and it didn't happen."

So what went wrong following a splendid start in which Wilkinson landed a precision drop goal and a penalty?

"We lost a bit of control," said Wilkinson. "We lost our foothold just before half-time. We spent a long time in our own half and the pressure kept coming. When you are a team defending against a team with incredibly quick ball going forward for that long, you would be a fool to think you could keep them out forever."

They didn't, Will Genia and Adam Ashley-Cooper touching down for the Australians, who squandered at least three other try-scoring opportunities which would have given the scoreline a more realistic look.

Of course there were 'positives,' something of a buzzword for England rugby coaches these days. Especially from the ubiquitous Moody and also at times from scrum-half Danny Care and centre Shane Geraghty.

But mostly they came from Wilkinson and the fact that, for what seemed an age, he emerged from an international fit, without pain and raring for the next scrap.

Wilkinson said: "Life for me for a long time was coming off and saying a prayer of thanks that I might get another shot next week. But we have got to make sure that this brings us closer together."