Ian Metcalfe, the chairman of the Professional Game Board which is due to consider England's World Cup fallout, has said it will be "the most comprehensive review ever undertaken of an England tournament performance".
The process starts on Thursday when a 12-man panel will receive reports and detailed interviews from the England management and squad and the nine Premiership clubs who supplied players. The PGB will present its recommendations to the RFU board of directors on 30 November.
In addition to Metcalfe, the panel will comprise four RFU representatives – Rob Andrew, John Spencer, Jason Leonard and the acting chief executive, Stephen Brown – plus Mark McCafferty, Quentin Smith, Peter Wheeler and Dave Thompson representing Premiership Rugby, Damian Hopley and Will James from the players' union and Geoff Irvine from the championship clubs.
The PGB also has the ability to include "further external input" in its findings, although precisely what form this might take is unspecified. All concerned say they will not be discussing any of their recommendations before they are formally delivered to the RFU in a fortnight's time, although Martin Johnson is expected to indicate before then whether he wishes to continue as England manager.
Decisive action is urgently needed to ensure other nations do not ruin England's best-laid plans by poaching the best available coaching talent in the interim. England have missed out on the services of Shaun Edwards, who has agreed a new deal with Wales, and there remains no permanent RFU chief executive, nor any formal confirmation of Andrew's new title as elite rugby director. Leicester's director of rugby, Richard Cockerill, says he is not surprised Edwards was not approached. "You'll have to speak to Rob Andrew. I don't know who is making those decisions," Cockerill said. "I suppose they need to decide who is coaching the side first before they start recruiting staff."
The RFU awaits formal confirmation that Mike Tindall will appeal against the decision to remove him from the elite player squad and fine him £25,000 following off-field events in New Zealand. Tindall was given three working days to consult legal advisers and has until Wednesday evening to appeal. It has emerged that part of the bar tab incurred by England players on their night out in Queenstown was paid for by the RFU. Tindall's two England colleagues James Haskell and Chris Ashton, who were both given suspended £5,000 fines following an episode in a Dunedin hotel, have also not indicated whether they intend to appeal.
