Johnson: We must avoid paying penalty

Martin Johnson insists England must become more streetwise if they are to beat South Africa in Saturday's World Cup final rematch at Twickenham.

Johnson has made one change to his starting XV from last weekend's 28-14 defeat by Australia, with James Haskell replacing Tom Croft at blindside flanker to combat the Springboks' renowned physicality.

"The guys have got to be aware that three points against South Africa is a big deal. They add up and the World Cup final is a classic example of that," said Johnson. "On Saturday we gave away some silly penalties and we were unlucky a few times."

He added: "It wasn't the same penalty being given away over and over again - but as a team we do need to become a bit smarter on the field."

Only four of the England team remain from the side that started last October's final in Paris - Nick Easter, Phil Vickery, Andrew Sheridan and Paul Sackey, but that does not make the lessons England can learn from that game any less pertinent, particularly after the manner of last weekend's defeat.

The Wallabies profited from a series of "needless penalties" to retain the Cook Cup, with Matt Giteau kicking six from seven and Stirling Mortlock landing a long-range goal.

In the World Cup final, South African full-back Percy Montgomery and Francois Steyn booted England into submission with five penalties between them.

Johnson added: "A lot of that is because we have a new team coming together. That is not an excuse but we have to function better in what we are trying to do. We need to put it right.

"It only takes five or six of those incidents in 80 minutes to make a difference. We want to be more efficient in what we do and make it more difficult for teams to defend against us and to not give away field position resulting in penalties and tries.

"To concede 28 points makes it very difficult to win. If we can cut that in half, which I think we can do, then you are in a fantastic position to win games."