The Rugby Football Union has confirmed that Stuart Lancaster will take charge of England on an interim basis.

The Saxons head coach will take the helm for the Six Nations alongside Graham Rowntree and Andy Farrell while the search for Martin Johnson's successor continues.

"All three of us are really excited about the opportunity ahead," said Lancaster. "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.

"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 added: "We believe this coaching team is the right one to collectively take England forward in the short term."

The ex-Leeds coach will face his first task of choosing the 32-man elite squad for the England's Six Nations campaign.