England have established themselves as the disciplinary basket case of world rugby and the problems engulfing the team are getting to Martin Johnson and skipper Steve Borthwick.

Johnson's team picked up two more yellow cards and 18 penalties in the 14-13 defeat by Ireland just a fortnight after indiscipline had cost them dearly against Wales where they also had a couple of players sin-binned.

TV cameras showed Johnson venting his anger as Danny Care was ordered off for 10 minutes while Borthwick turned on a BBC radio reporter in the post-match area in Dublin and made it very clear he would not be questioned about his captaincy or form.

Johnson's rapid elevation to team manager without any experience of the role at Test level was supposed to bring order, not create this kind of chaos and it constitutes the greatest challenge of his illustrious career. Winning the World Cup in 2003 was achieved under the professional management of Sir Clive Woodward and aided by team-mates of true world class.

To solve this disciplinary nightmare - 10 yellow cards in four matches - Johnson has the largely invisible RFU elite rugby director Rob Andrew, a coaching staff made up of men either tarnished by previous failure or, in the case of backs coach Brian Smith, and a captain that I understand even senior figures in the Rugby Football Union don't believe is worth his place in the team.

It is now obvious that Borthwick got the job because Matt Stevens was supposed to be the long-term answer at tight-head prop which meant Phil Vickery was on his way out. With Stevens starting a two-year drugs ban and Vickery back at No3, suddenly England have in their front row the player who led them to the 2007 Rugby World Cup Final, who is worth a place in the team with or without the captaincy.

While Vickery collected the first yellow card and fell foul of referee Craig Joubert on other occasions in Dublin, he is still the best alternative and said: "Johnno has every right to be angry. We have become easy for the refs because there is a trend."

Johnson has to act and that means stripping Borthwick of the captaincy and handing the role back to Vickery, recall Simon Shaw to add bulk to the second row and castigate Care and drop him from the squad to face France at Twickenham on 15 March.

The roots of this crisis can be traced back to last summer when Borthwick took an understrength England to New Zealand under the management of Andrew, lost both Tests badly and saw the trip blackened by allegations of serious sexual impropriety that resulted from players bringing women back to the team hotel. Fines were handed out while the allegation was deemed unfounded. It was the first evidence that standards of behaviour had fallen since the glory of 2003.

Amid the penalties in Dublin, England still came close to beating Ireland. Mathew Tait and Mike Tindall reminded the doubters England can break the opposition defensive line while Delon Armitage scored a second successive try. However, the plus points are outweighed by the team's inability to work with Test match referees.

Johnson will put together a video 'nasty' of the offences and said: "It's annoying because we had a chance of winning and it's very frustrating to play with only 14 men."