The RFU have confirmed that Stuart Lancaster has stepped down as England's Head Coach.
Lancaster's resignation comes off the back of a disastrous World Cup for England. The hosts failed to advance from the Pool stages after losses to Wales and Australia in Twickenham. It was the first occasion they failed to reach the quarter finals.
The 46 year old took charge of England in the aftermath of the 2011 World Cup, initially on an interim basis. He had previously worked as Head Coach with the England Saxons.
In Lancaster's four years in charge of England he failed to win the Six Nations. His side finished second for four years in a row. From 2013 to 2015 his side were only pipped to the title on points difference.
In a statement released by The RFU, Lancaster spoke about his decision. “I am obviously extremely saddened to finish the way we did in this World Cup and to step down from the role. As I have always said, I ultimately accept and take responsibility for the team's performance and we have not delivered the results we all hoped for during this tournament.”
“I am immensely proud of the development of this team and I know that there is an incredibly strong foundation for them to progress to great things in the future. We have played some excellent rugby and it was always going to be tough to get the right level of experience into them in time for 2015. It is a young group of players with the huge majority available for the Rugby World Cup in Japan in 2019, where I believe their recent experience will make them genuine contenders.”
Lancaster's assistants including Andy Farrell and Graham Rowntree currently remain in their positions ahead of the Six Nations. England begin their campaign away to Scotland on February 6th.
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