Johnson's side suffered a third successive Championship defeat at the hands of Wales © Getty Images

Enlarge

Related Links

News: Roberts to undergo scan on shoulder injury

Verdict: English rugby shows signs of life

Reaction: Gatland proud following battling display

Tournaments/Tours: Six Nations

Teams: England | Wales

England manager Martin Johnson insists his side will have to be "whiter than white" if they are to shake off their disciplinary woes.

England suffered once again at the hands of the referee during their 23-15 loss to Wales at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday and Johnson believes it cost his side the chance of an upset victory. England lost the penalty count 12-8 and had both Mike Tindall and Andy Goode sin-binned in Cardiff, taking their yellow card count to eight in just three matches. Wales took full advantage with Stephen Jones kicking five penalties and Leigh Halfpenny adding a long-range strike to his fourth Test try.

"There is a perception issue now," Johnson said. "It is self-perpetuating. We have to sort it out. We have to be whiter than white when we play."

He added: "I spoke to the referee (Jonathan Kaplan) on Friday and he said he had no issue with us as a team.

England hit back from a 9-0 deficit and a shocking start to push Wales hard with a spirited performance and tries from Paul Sackey and Delon Armitage. But ultimately those indiscretions proved costly and Johnson is concerned England's reputation is starting to precede them.

"I am down because we lost. It was a Test we could have won. Despite the penalty count, despite the yellow cards we could have turned them over if we had executed a bit better and kept our composure," added Johnson. "It was a Test match for either side to win really and it came down to self-belief.

"We scored two tries but we gave away 18 points in penalties. Ultimately we could have overcome it. We missed a couple of penalties and one at the end (by Toby Flood) which could have put a lot of pressure on them. But there were a lot of good things. We created openings and defensively Mike Ford's system was fantastic.

"How do you teach composure? We talked about discipline all week. It was the focus of the week. You have to keep ramming it into guys. When they train under pressure you have to make sure they are legal - but sometimes you can't replicate the pressures of a Test match in training.

"It is something we have got to deal with and an area we have to get better. We have got to be whiter than white on the field. It was a Test match for either side to win really and it came down to self-belief. We scored two tries but we gave away 18 points in penalties.

"It is our job as coaches to help them take belief from the game. It is part of this team understanding what Test match rugby is all about to a degree," Johnson explained. "Generally I thought we did a great job at the breakdown. Joe stopped Jamie Roberts' momentum through the middle and they had to play off a lot of slow ball.

"Consistency of performance is what we need and it is getting better. We need to trust ourselves that we can play and we showed we can. When we get quick ball it is not particularly about shapes and systems, it is about 'heads up' and playing the game. When we did that a few times we really looked dangerous.

"We put in enough effort to win a Test match but you need composure in the heat of the moment to finish it off. We didn't quite have that," said Johnson. "Will we be better for the experience? Yes, hopefully. Winning is a habit and it is something we need to get into and learn how to do."