Brown (left) and Metcalfe: Face the media at Twickenham

But the RFU insist they will not be rushed into an appointment to replace manager Martin Johnson, who resigned in the wake of England's disastrous World Cup campaign.

A new permanent head coach will be in place by the time England go on their summer 2012 tour of South Africa.

And a new chief executive should be in place by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Rugby Football Union acting chief executive Stephen Brown has apologised for England's performance at the World Cup.

England lost in the quarter-finals in New Zealand after a campaign marred by off-the-field incidents.

The RFU's management board met on Wednesday to discuss the recommendations made by the critical reviews into that campaign, which were leaked to The Times last week.

"The most important thing is to make an apology to everyone involved in rugby for the performance of the World Cup and the surrounding events," Brown told a press conference at Twickenham.

"We've let ourselves down as a sport and as a team. It's important we recognise that and take some action going forward.

"Standards were below what we expect, we had a number of off-pitch disciplinary matters and that attracted a lot of negative coverage which we regret.

"We need to fix this going forward and make sure we are in a better place going into 2015 and the report is aimed to do that."

Leaks

Ian Metcalfe, chairman of the Professional Game Board, added: "We also apologise to the players themselves and coaches for the leaks that happened, they are inexcusable.

"But we must not get so wrapped up in finding the leaker to ignore the real issues we have in England rugby.

"It's not all broken, there are lots of good things out there and working together we can improve on that."

Asked about the appointment of Martin Johnson's replacement, Metcalfe added: "We will take as much time as we need to make that appointment.

"I spoke to Nick Mallett after Martin resigned and he explained he was back in Cape Town - I've not spoken to him since he has arrived here.

"He's somebody you would expect to be on any wider list but we want to make it as open a process as possible.

"There are a number of high-quality coaches in the Premiership and we would be very interested in their interest in the job."

In a further development, the RFU have announced elite rugby director Rob Andrew is to be appointed as the organisation's professional rugby director.

Andrew's position as elite director of rugby had been the subject of speculation since the team's dismal World Cup campaign, and he twice stated that he would not be resigning.

His new role will not involve direct contact with the senior national team but he will have responsibility for other representative teams and the relationship with Premiership Rugby.

Metcalfe insisted Andrew's change of role was not a demotion. "I don't think it's a demotion at all," he added. "One of the ways we failed Rob is not explaining the breadth of what he is trying to do. He has a significant contribution to continue to make."