Half-backs Austin Healey and Paul Grayson mirrored England's frustration after a performance that saw the Six Nations champions surrender their 14-Test unbeaten record and left several players sweating on World Cup places.

England, for the first time since France beat them in Paris 18 months ago, were considerably below par.

And there were no complaints from the red rose camp as they flew out of sweltering Marseille, ready for Saturday's Twickenham rematch with France.

Had either of Grayson's injury time drop-goal attempts found the target - his first was charged down and the second drifted wide - then England would have pinched victory.

But it would have been a hollow win, given that they came nowhere near hitting the standards during an illustrious unbeaten sequence which took them top of rugby's official world rankings.

''My gut reaction is one of bitter disappointment,'' said Grayson, whose nerveless goalkicking in front of a vociferous 60,000 crowd at the spectacular Stade Velodrome looks to have put him above World Cup fly-half rival Alex King.

''Our ball retention was very ordinary, and the areas where we usually excel generally proved very disappointing.''

It was not to be a fairytale return for Healey, having battled his way back courageously from a knee injury initially deemed so serious that he was advised to retire.

Healey's World Cup hopes must be hanging in the balance, given that fellow scrum-half candidate Andy Gomarsall again looked razor sharp after he appeared off the bench.

''I wasn't pleased with my game,'' said Healey, whose World Cup fate, and that of many others, will be revealed when England boss Clive Woodward unveils his 30-man squad next week.

''We were under a lot of pressure at the base of the scrum, where France defended very well.

''Had Paul's drop-goal gone over, it would have gone down as another England triumph. But we hold our hands up as a team, because the areas where we are usually strong, we weren't on this occasion.''

A malfunctioning lineout illustrated Healey's point, with England losing five on their own throw-in, a vital set-piece area where they are normally so efficient.

''We didn't expect to get outmanoeuvred in the lineout area - and that's what is still bugging me,'' said Woodward.

''The lineout didn't go well, and I was a little disappointed with the scrums as well. If they had been to our normal standards, then I think we would have won the game.

''You are not going to win these sort of games with the amount of ball we got from set-piece situations, and France outplayed us in that area. Olivier Magne, especially, caused us a lot of problems.

''We just seemed slow. It was our own fault, and that is a concern, because it hasn't happened for a long time.''

Even though the record has gone - England were just four wins away from setting a new world-best of 18 successive Test wins - Woodward was delighted with a fixture that served its purpose as a warm-up for this autumn's global spectacular in Australia.

''We learnt far more from this game than we did against Wales last weekend,'' he added.

''You can get carried away when you see your team score 40 or 50 points (England beat Wales 43-9), but in reality, that is not going to win you the World Cup.

''A game like this one focusses minds very clearly. We want the physical contest, so that when you go into the South Africa match in the World Cup, you know what is going to happen.''

Bath centre Mike Tindall scored England's try - his ninth Test touchdown - and Grayson kicked 11 points, while full-back Nicolas Brusque claimed the solitary French try, and there were three penalties and a drop-goal from fly-half Frederic Michalak.

England though, who rested several key personnel, including Martin Johnson, Lawrence Dallaglio, Richard Hill and Jonny Wilkinson, have a chance for revenge when the countries clash this weekend.

But they will still feel annoyed and angry at conceding second best on a ground where France have never lost, and whose previous Stade Velodrome scalps include both New Zealand and Australia.

Of the players looking to impress Woodward, young Leicester centre Ollie Smith stood out, and full-back Iain Balshaw had his moments, but injury again curtailed the Bath star's night, and he will not be fit to face France in the rematch