The structure of England's national rugby setup is to be independently reviewed in November.

Fran Cotton will review the professional rugby department before making recommendations to the RFU. Operations director Rob Andrew's report of the World Cup will also be submitted.

The panel have the power to appoint their own head of professional rugby after a series of chaotic reshuffles behind the scenes at the RFU.

Coach Martin Johnson's role is also to be considered after Cotton was damning in his verdict of the former England captain's current reign.

"We were knocked out in the quarter-finals and we played poorly throughout the competition. It is a failure as far as we are concerned," Cotton told Sky Sports News.

"Martin has now been in charge three and a half years and it is very difficult to understand what style of play this England rugby team is all about.

"The basic skills of rugby at that level just aren't good enough and I haven't seen an improvement in the last three and a half years."

The RFU are expected to publish the findings in December.