STUART LANCASTER was today appointed England’s Interim Head Coach for the 2012 RBS 6 Nations.

Lancaster, the RFU Head of Elite Player Development and England Saxons Head Coach, will be assisted by Graham Rowntree and Andy Farrell, who will be seconded from Aviva Premiership Champions Saracens.

 “All three of us are really excited about the opportunity ahead. Andrew has done an outstanding job at Saracens and the Saxons; Graham has enormous respect from the players and has vast experience and I am confident that we can work well together as a coaching team,” said Lancaster.

“The World Cup was enormously disappointing but we shouldn’t forget that England won 10 out of 13 games this year and a Six Nations title. We have a promising group of players to go forward with and the challenge for Graham, Andy and myself is to get the best out of them.”

RFU Acting Chief Executive Stephen Brown said: “It was important that, following the recommendations of the Professional Game Board and the commitment we made as an RFU Board last week to implement them, an Interim Head Coach was appointed as soon as possible.

“Stuart is not only an experienced coach but his role as Head of Elite Player Development puts him at the forefront of producing international players. He will be well supported by Graham, with all his experience with England and the British Lions and Andy, who has helped Saracens become one of the leading clubs in the country and we are grateful to them for allowing Andy to join us on a temporary basis. We believe this coaching team is the right one to collectively take England forward in the short term.”