The England head coach Steve Borthwick is seeking clarity from officials over new laws and areas of emphasis as he seeks to address his side’s discipline problems ahead of the resumption of the Nations Championship.

England’s Six Nations struggles were underpinned by a high penalty count and significant number of cards, a theme that continued into their July fixtures against South Africa, Fiji and Argentina.

Borthwick and the rest of the head coaches were allowed to meet with referees on Sunday ahead of the Nations Championship’s return next weekend, with England taking on Australia in their November opener.

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is likely to provide four referees at next year’s World Cup, with all of Karl Dickson, Luke Pearce, Matthew Carley and Christophe Ridley regularly handed big Test matches. England, of course, cannot be officiated by any of the quartet, though Ridley is a regular in camp and presented to Borthwick’s squad on Tuesday.

Borthwick was pleased to have had a round of European action in which English clubs were overseen by referees from elsewhere, though he noted that the Prem sides struggled – turning over more ball in attack and less in defence than teams from other nations.

And the breakdown was an area on which Borthwick was seeking clarity, while underlining that his squad must get better at adapting to different refereeing styles and interpretations.

“We are refereed domestically by English referees. Internationally, quite clearly we will never have the English referees, so then you need to get used to other interpretations,” Borthwick explained. “The best players are smart and the best players adjust. And I think it’s pretty obvious there’s been over the last six, eight months, we haven’t adjusted and dealt with moments the way we want to. That’s been an emphasis – players discussed that candidly in the camp we had about six weeks ago.

“We spend too much time defending, and the way the interpretations are right now, as soon as you spend as much time as you defending, there is likely to be a decision that goes against you, which gives an entry into the 22. There has been an exponential increase, not just us, but an exponential increase in the number of cards given. The vast majority of them given in your own defensive 22. We spent too much time there, because we spent too much time defending. We want to get the ball back faster.”

Borthwick’s concerns over his side’s discipline come amid a divergence between the Prem, where defensive teams are more rarely rewarded at the breakdown, and the Top 14, United Rugby Championship and – particularly – Test rugby.

“I absolutely understand why Prem Rugby is going in the direction it’s gone and I think many people would enjoy watching that,” Borthwick said. “From my point of view here, there’s some aspects of the game that we need to bridge from where it is in club rugby to where it is in Test rugby. 

“One would be the breakdown, the contact area and the way it is in Prem Rugby is different to Test rugby. I think that was probably exemplified by the European round, where the English clubs lost more ball at the breakdown than any other nation, and won less back at the breakdown on the opposition ball as any other nation. So it's telling us straight away that there is a situation we need to bridge in that breakdown area, both ability to get the ball back and the ability to retain and win fast ball going forward. 

“And when you look at the teams we are playing against in the next few weeks, there is a big breakdown challenge coming. So that’s part of my job, one of the biggest parts of my job, to make that bridge in a couple of sessions from where they are to where they need to be next Sunday.”

Borthwick would like the Prem attacking bonus point rule changed to that of the Top 14 in which a side must score at least three tries more than the opposition, rather than simply registering four scores, to ensure defence is prioritised right up to the end of the game.

Another area of interest for him and a number of international head coaches are the changes to the dangerous tackle law. The so-called “hip-drop” and “knee-drop” tackles will both be in place for the Nations Championship as World Rugby looks to prioritise player welfare.

The latter of those concerns a tackler dropping to a knee before making a low tackle, and has already been introduced. Fiji flanker Motikai Murray was sent off against Japan last month for a challenge of that type, though coaches anticipate that the technique will not be strictly enforced when close to the goal line.

The hip-drop tackle, meanwhile, became illegal on Sunday, and has long been outlawed in the NRL and NFL. Harlequins back rower Chandler Cunningham-South has been ruled out of England’s autumn with an ankle injury suffered in a tackle of that type from international teammate George Ford in a game against Sale in October, with referee Ridley forced to overturn an initial showing of a yellow card with the law not yet in force.

“I don’t think we can argue against anything that enhances and protects the players who play this intense game,” Borthwick conceded. “What we’ve got to be is the quickest to adjust.”