England coach Smith quits

The 45-year-old Australian, who joined England's coaching set-up in 2008, was harshly judged by players in reviews conducted by the Rugby Players' Association.

The reports into England's disappointing World Cup campaign became public knowledge when they were leaked to the Times newspaper and published on Wednesday.

One player was reported to have said: "I would be delighted if he went. Our attack play was boring, uninventive, lacklustre, even schoolboy at times."

Other comments included: "If we'd got to the semi-finals or final it would have papered over the cracks and the worst thing is Brian Smith would have stayed in his job. It might be a blessing."

In keeping with the chaos surrounding the Rugby Football Union (RFU) at the moment, the news initially appeared on its official Twitter page only to be removed shortly afterwards.

Official confirmation arrived later on Thursday with a statement from the RFU saying Smith had stood down having decided not to seek a renewal of his contract.

Smith said in a statement: "I feel that England have made great strides in the last three years and although the World Cup was a massive disappointment, we have won 10 out of the last 13 games, including beating Australia back-to-back and winning the Six Nations for the first time since 2003."

Former England manager Martin Johnson said: "Brian has brought a high level of coaching and a huge amount of commitment and passion to the job. If you look at our record in the last 12 months, and the fact that we have scored 37 tries to 12 conceded, it shows what an impact he has made.

"I want to thank him for what he has done for the England team and for the young players that he has brought on".

Smith, a former scrum-half, won six caps for Australia and nine for Ireland.

He coached at ACT Brumbies, NSW Waratahs, Bath and Ricoh in Japan before joining London Irish as rugby director in 2005.

Smith joined the England set up from the Exiles in July 2008 as the only coaching appointment of Johnson, who also resigned last week following England's departure from the World Cup at the quarter-final stage.

England's lacklustre campaign on the pitch was overshadowed by events off it, with poor discipline and decisions putting the players in the news for the wrong reasons.

Defence coach Mike Ford and forwards coach John Wells were also heavily criticised by the players but scrum coach Graham Rowntree was widely praised.

There has been speculation that Stuart Lancaster, the head of the second-string England Saxons, could take over the senior team in a caretaker capacity for the Six Nations championship which begins in February.