Lewis Moody backs Dylan Hartley's decision to see a sports psychologist

Former England captain Lewis Moody reckons Dylan Hartley has made the right decision to seek advice from a sports psychologist in a bid to curb his disciplinary problems.

Moody is confident Hartley can calm his fiery temper which has blighted his Test career.

Hartley's red card and three-match for elbowing Matt Smith against Leicester in December took his career suspensions to 50 weeks, adding to lay-offs for eye-gouging, biting, punching and swearing.

And Moody cites psychology sessions in 2005 for cementing his international career following his red card for brawling with Alesana Tuilagi in England's 40-3 victory over Samoa.

"I know Dylan has been seeing a psychologist, I did the same in 2005 and it worked wonders for me," Moody said.

"When you find the red mist descending, you distract yourself. How do you do that? For me, I ensured my first move in future would be to look at the referee, because my next action would be decided by him.

"That simple process made sure that I never had another yellow or red card in my career, post-2005.

"The worrying thing for me is that Dylan still keeps having these moments of red mist, and that will mean that teams will pick on him more and more."

Hartley claimed he had no need for sports psychology after his red card in the 2013 Premiership final for swearing at referee Wayne Barnes.

The 28-year-old was able to ride out head coach Stuart Lancaster warning he faced his "last chance" with England after that misdemeanour.

And Lancaster selected Hartley in his Six Nations squad this week, shaking off suggestions the 61-cap front-rower's latest red card threatened his Test future.

"There is a concern over his temperament in games, but that said, Dylan is a very physical, competitive, combative forward who you always want in your team," Moody said.

"It's just at what point does Stuart say, 'right, your behaviour is now costing the team'. It is frustrating to watch and I'm sure it's frustrating to him that it keeps happening, so there's got to be a way for him to deal with his emotion and to be able to control it.

"I'd hate for him to have any more incidents or his England career to be stopped short because of something he does.

"I know Stuart Lancaster and the squad have been working very hard with him, and that he takes it very seriously."