Martyn Thomas has refused to step down from his position as acting chief executive of the RFU following England’s disappointing exit from the World Cup.
England slumped out of the tournament in lacklustre fashion with a 19-12 defeat against France in the quarter-finals on Saturday.
Rob Andrew, operations director at the RFU, will now undertake a comprehensive “root and branch” review of England’s failed campaign before deciding on the future of coach Martin Johnson.
Criticism has already been levelled at the England team and management after a series of issues on and off the field during the tournament in New Zealand.
But Thomas, who has already survived two votes of no confidence, is refusing to consider stepping down.
“I’m not in the business of turning my back on conflict,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Sportsweek.
“I’ve never done it in my life and I’m not going to start doing it later in life.
“I am not going to resign over what’s gone on because I don’t believe I have anything to resign over. Other people may judge it differently and they are entitled to do so.”
Asked what his position would be if there was another vote of no confidence, he said: “I’ve survived two votes of no confidence at the last two council meetings and that’s all I can do really.
“If they want to pursue it, so be it. My heart is in always in doing what I believe are in the best interests for England and supporting the England team.
“It’s a matter for others to judge if that’s what they want and if they want someone else to do it.”
Although there have been calls for Johnson and Andrew to be fired, Johnson’s current contract expires shortly and he has already admitted he will consider his future, while Andrew is expected to assume another new role within the RFU.
“I can’t say whether Rob would leave. We’ve got to do a review and if there are failings in the rugby departments we need to identify those failings and determine on the course of action that will correct the position,” Thomas added.
“As far as Martin’s concerned, we’ll get the review done. I’m not going to make it (the decision) for him.
“He needs some time to think about it and we all need some time to think about it.
“We delivered in the Six Nations, we started this campaign well, we slipped against Wales (losing 19-9 in a World Cup warm-up match) and we have blatantly failed to deliver in this World Cup.
“I wouldn’t agree that he’s likely to continue or not continue. I honestly couldn’t call that. It’s a matter for him to make that decision as to whether he wants to continue into 2015.
“He’s big enough to look after himself in that respect. He has my backing, certainly.”
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