England head coach Stuart Lancaster has refused to comment on suggestions that he could lose his job should the team be knocked out of the Rugby World Cup before the quarter-final stage.

The Red Rose are in danger of dropping out of their home tournament before the knockout rounds if they do not beat Australia at Twickenham this Saturday.

In this afternoon's press conference, when asked if he could be sacked if England fail, Lancaster said: "If you start distracting yourself with the what-ifs you aren't doing your job. There are a lot of things to play out in the next two weeks.

"It's a must-win game because if we lose we don't get out of the group. So there's no point hiding where the accountability lies. As a head coach you don't take the players beyond Saturday, you take them to Saturday. You put them in the right place to play a strong game on Saturday.

"There's no denying it, the stakes are huge for us, but the boys will be ready. I'm not going beyond this game, there's a lot of things to play out over the next two weeks."

Lancaster's contract with the Rugby Football Union does not expire until 2020.