Devastated Lancaster admits to uncertain future
England coach Stuart Lancaster's time in charge could be over after the hosts' failure at the Rugby World Cup.
A "gutted" Stuart Lancaster admits his future is uncertain after England's 33-13 loss to Australia saw them fail to reach the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.
England became the first host nation to be knocked out at the group stage of a World Cup after the defeat at Twickenham on Saturday, which came after last weekend's reverse to Wales.
Lancaster, who accepted in the lead-up that a loss to the Wallabies could signal the end of his time in charge, said his future was unclear, with one game still to come against Uruguay.
"We're gutted. And gutted for all the fans and everyone at home. Everyone put so much effort in but we're sorry we let everyone down," he told the BBC.
"The first half we went in 17-3 behind and I felt that was a tough scoreline. We got back into the game but in the last five to 10 minutes, after the yellow card [to Owen Farrell], Australia dominated and deserved to win.
"We came up short last week against Wales and this week - that's the bottom line. But there are some good players in this squad and I hope the nation stays behind them.
"Will I be staying behind them as their coach? It's not for me to say. I've just got to get them ready for next week."
England captain Chris Robshaw was similarly apologetic and acknowledged his team had let the nation down.
He said: "As you imagine the changing room is a very quiet place. We feel we let the country down. As players we didn't quite get there. We apologise to them. Australia played very well - but we're gutted.
"Credit to Australia, we knew across the board that they would put us under pressure and they were good.
"The yellow card for Owen Farrell was tough, we started to build a little momentum but left ourselves a little too much to do. We felt we built up some pressure but credit to their defence."