England have been urged to add a world-class referee to Steve Borthwick's coaching team

England legend Lawrence Dallaglio has urged Steve Borthwick to add former referee Wayne Barnes to his coaching team.

Recently Wales head coach Steve Tandy recruited ex-referee Ben Whitehouse, while Jaco Peyper is also part of Rassie Erasmus' coaching team with South Africa.

Writing in his Sunday Times column Dallaglio insists England should employ former world-class official Barnes in a bid to improve their poor discipline.

“All teams get referees into the camp to talk to them about what they can and can’t get away with and how games are going to be refereed," he wrote in the Sunday Times.

"England really ought to break the bank to get in Wayne Barnes, who was for a long time the best referee in the world.

“The international game is refereed differently to the club game, but that has been an issue for a long time, including when I was playing.

"The best players are able to adapt to the game in front of them – that’s what marks them out.”

England face Australia, Japan and New Zealand at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham in the Nations Championship this month.

And Dallaglio insists they must improve their discipline if they are to do well.

“One area they can help to improve, and that will be crucial, is discipline and the penalty count," he wrote in his Sunday Times column.

“You can’t win a game of rugby if you’re giving away as many penalties and yellow cards as England have over the past 12 months.

"There are what I call pressure penalties, where the team is overwhelmingly winning the gainline battle and it’s almost inevitable you’re going to give penalties away as a result of the pressure.

“And then there are what I call execution penalties, where players are not taking the right options at the right time.

"England have been on the wrong side of both of those types. Having been one of those players in my own playing career that wasn’t averse to giving away the odd penalty or two, I do understand the need to find a balance.

“But as you get more experienced in the world of international rugby and winning Test matches, you understand how to keep the indiscipline across the team down and how to keep the penalties down to a sensible number that’s going to allow you to win the Test match."

Whitehouse hung up his whistle following the Welsh derby between Ospreys and Dragons at St Helen's last month. He will now take up a position in Steve Tandy's coaching ticket ahead of Tests against Japan, New Zealand and Asutralia.

“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time so far with Steve, the coaches and players," said Whitehouse upon the confirmation of his appointment.

"Rugby has been a huge part of my life since a young age and Wales means everything to me.

“I’m incredibly proud to be joining the team now full-time as a specialist coach. It’s a huge honour to become part of the national squad set up and I’m excited to continue working with the group as we head into our next block of matches this autumn.”

“Ben’s had a big impact already in his work with us so far this year and it’s great to now make that a more formal role," said Tandy.

"His knowledge of the game from his experience officiating, not only around the laws but also in terms of communication, is hugely beneficial and we’ll be working hard as a group to continue to build and improve in this area during the next phase of the Nations Championship in November.”