Former All Blacks assistant back line coach Wayne Smith is considering moving back to England in order to join Stuart Lancaster's coaching team.

England head coach Stuart Lancaster flew to South Africa last week and met with Smith who was touring the country with the Chiefs in Super Rugby.

Smith has taken a one year job with the Chiefs who are the current Super Rugby leaders so he would not be available to join England until the end of September.

Lancaster originally wanted Saracens coach Andy Farrell to assist him but Farrell decided to stay with Saracens.

Lancaster needs an assistant coach for the England tour of South Africa in June and he is expected to meet with London Irish's Mike Catt this week for an interim appointment.

Lancaster wants England to have more of an attacking edge and Smith is understood to have similar ideas about where England should be going.

Smith has said that he wants to coach internationally again but not as head coach so he now needs to decide whether he wants to move to England for three years until the end of the next Rugby World Cup.

Smith has lived in England before as he was Northampton Saints coach in 2001.