RWC 2015: What now for England after Wales defeat?

After losing to Wales at Twickenham England now face an uphill battle to qualify from Pool A

Sam Burgess is tackled by Scott Williams as Mike Brown and Gethin Jenkins look on (Getty Images)

Dan Biggar's long-range penalty gave Wales a shock 28-25 victory over England at Twickenham, but as the English fans wipe away their tears and the players lick their wounds the question begs: What now for England?

The defeat does not mean England face an immediate exit, but they will now have to beat Australia on October 3 to stand a realistic chance of progressing to the quarter finals.

England lie second in Pool A, two points behind leaders Wales, but if Australia claim a bonus-point victory over Uruguay tomorrow, as they are expected to, then Stuart Lancaster's side will drop into third.

If Australia beat England and claim a bonus point against the South American minnows then the hosts will need Wales to dramatically slip up, in order to qualify.

However, in the unlikely event that Wales lose both their remaining pool matches against Fiji and Australia without picking up a losing bonus point, then England will only need a bonus-point win over Uruguay to progress.

The Australia match is now a must-win and while the English have won their last two games against the Wallabies, they are well aware of the threat Michael Cheika's potent side pose.

Austrlaia toppled the mighty New Zealand on their way to winning The Rugby Championship and on Wednesday they kicked off their campaign with a convincing win over Fiji, but as England know, that does not always guarentee further success.

England are not out of the running yet, but they cannot afford to lose another match.