Wednesday 11 November 2015 18:05, UK
Stuart Lancaster has resigned as England coach with immediate effect.
Lancaster has stepped down following England's disappointing World Cup campaign, when they became the first hosts of the tournament to fail to progress to the quarter-finals.
Lancaster was appointed full time in April 2012, taking over from Martin Johnson. He guided England to second place in all of the past four Six Nations Championships and had a contract until 2020, but leaves with a record of 28 wins in 46 matches.
He took part in the RFU's review process in the immediate aftermath of the World Cup, and has left the job with the mutual consent of his Twickenham employers.
Lancaster said: "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 did, however, want to take part in the review to ensure I understood the views of others before making a decision. The reality is that, while many aspects of the review were very positive, we didn't achieve success on the field when it mattered and we all have to take responsibility for that but me especially as head coach.
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"I took on the role in difficult circumstances and it has been a huge challenge to transition the team with many hurdles along the way.
"However, 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 succeeded Johnson, having previously been head coach of England Saxons.
England went into the World Cup with high hopes of winning the tournament for the first time since 2003, but defeats to Wales and Australia at the Pool stage meant an embarrassing early exit.
Lancaster's selections before and during the tournament were hugely controversial. George Ford was his first choice fly-half in the run-up to the tournament, but against Wales Lancaster suddenly reverted to Owen Farrell.
I ultimately accept and take responsibility for the team's performance and we have not delivered the results.
The selection of rugby league convert Sam Burgess ahead of Northampton's Luther Burrell in the squad also divided opinion, and his decision to start Burgess against Wales came in for criticism too.
Ian Ritchie, RFU CEO, said: ''The Rugby World Cup was hugely disappointing for everyone associated with the England team and the subsequent review into the team's performance was always intended to be extremely comprehensive, which it has been.
"Stuart has been fully involved and has given feedback as well as the other coaches, players, management and a wide variety of people from around the game. Following the review, Stuart and I met, where we agreed that he should step down as head coach. This was subsequently ratified by the RFU Board."
There was no mention of Lancaster's backroom staff in the RFU statement, leaving the futures of Graham Rowntree, Andy Farrell and Mike Catt up in the air.
The coaching team, like Lancaster, signed new deals last year which are due to run until the end of the 2019/20 season. Ritchie and RFU chairman Bill Beaumont will appear at a press conference at Twickenham at 4.30pm.
Watch Sky Sports 2 HD at 7pm on Thursday night (before Harlequins v Montpellier) for a Rugby Special on England's Future, with Stuart Barnes, Dean Ryan and Ali Williams joining Alex Payne to discuss Lancaster's exit and more.
