RFU chiefs silence review panel assessing England's World Cup performance

English rugby chiefs have gagged the panel looking into the World Cup debacle.

Standard Sport understands that the five men reviewing the performance of head coach Stuart Lancaster and his fellow coaches had to sign a confidentiality agreement barring them from revealing any details of the investigation, including when the report will be submitted.

This is despite the RFU already confirming it will be presented to the Union’s management board on November 17.

The RFU obviously feel the need for secrecy following the shambles of the review into the 2011 World Cup campaign. Details of confidential comments by players were leaked to a national newspaper with the RFU refusing to reveal the findings of their own investigation into the leaks.

The panel assessing England’s failure to make the knockout stages is led by RFU chief executive Ian Ritchie and features Sir Ian McGeechan, Ben Kay, Ian Metcalfe and Ian Watmore. The choice of the panel has been criticised but RFU insiders are adamant the five men are “strong willed and will make the right calls”.