Shane Williams has urged Wales not to panic after Warren Gatland's men were beaten 26-19 by England in their Six Nations opener in Cardiff.

Coach Gatland told his players to be "very self-critical" as Wales extended their winless run to eight matches at the Millennium Stadium on Friday.

Williams says 'lessons must be learned' but remains calm as Wales' World Cup build-up started with another defeat.

"I'm fed up saying this but in glimpses we showed we can play rugby," he said.

"We made far too make mistakes, far too many turnovers and again discipline was a problem.

"Our kicking game wasn't up to standard compared to Toby Flood and their boys.

When we do keep the ball and keep playing, we look world class Wales coach Warren Gatland

"There are a lot of lessons to be learned and a lot of positives. It is not all doom and gloom. It is only the first game of the Championship.

"We're really disappointed but there are things we did do well, so let's not hit the panic button just yet."

England succeeded in Cardiff for the first time since their World Cup winning year of 2003 as Chris Ashton scored twice to seal a crucial victory with the 2011 World Cup just seven months away.

Wales failed to capitalise when England lock Louis Deacon was sin-binned for killing the ball in the first half.

But the visitors did, Ashton scoring his second try when Wales prop Craig Mitchell was yellow carded for a technical infringement in the second half.

Gatland bemoaned Wales' continued insistence on kicking away possession to England, missing penalty kicks and making costly errors which proved their downfall.

Highlights - Wales 19-26 England

The clinical English scored twice from their few try-scoring opportunities and the prolific Flood and his replacement Jonny Wilkinson punished Welsh indiscipline with a flawless kicking display from the tee.

Gatland has been advised to switch the versatile James Hook, who played full-back, to fly-half in place of the experienced Stephen Jones as the Welsh obsession with the number 10 position continues to dominate debate.

That is despite unimpressive performances from Lions stars Mike Phillips and Jamie Roberts, in particular, as the Welsh back line failed to spark.

Gatland has suffered a torrid run of results since Wales' last victory in the last game of the 2010 Six Nations against Italy.

The Wales coach is under increasing pressure for victories in this Six Nations, given the Welsh propensity for dispensing with coaches in the build-up to World Cups.

The New Zealander said: "We're disappointed as we felt there was an opportunity.

"We need to keep reminding the players about having the confidence to keep playing rugby and making sure we control our own destiny.

"Sometimes we don't do that because we make silly mistakes and, from a coaching point of view, that is still the frustrating thing with this side.

"At times we looked sharp in the backs. We need to keep the ball and keep having confidence because when we do keep the ball and keep playing, we look world class.

"We need to look at ourselves, there are a few issues that we need to address.

"I can't complain about the effort but we still need to be very self critical in the areas that we can still improve."

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