The rumours surrounding England's World Cup coaching have gained further momentum following comments by two of the team's leading players, Lawrence Dallaglio and Mike Catt, which strongly criticise Brian Ashton.

Dallaglio and Catt are the first players to openly voice their concerns over the lack of leadership amongst the England coaching staff in the wake of what looked at one point like it was going to be England's worst ever World Cup.

Veteran Dallaglio, widely regarded as one of the most respected figures in English rugby, told the Sunday Times that England's preparation in the build up to the defence of their Webb Ellis Trophy was that of a "pub team" claiming the turnaround in their fortunes was more to do with the siege mentality that developed amongst the players rather than a specific strategy handed down by the coaches.

"It pains me to say this but given our preparation, getting to the final was a victory in itself and one that reflected great credit on some truly great players," Dallaglio says in his autobiography, being serialised in the Sunday Times.

"Our three principal coaches were Brian, John Wells and Mike Ford. Brian was head coach, John worked with the forwards and Mike was our defence coach.

"You would expect them to be singing from the same hymn sheet and supporting each other in everything they said to the players. But I don't think that was how it was. Right from the start, they had different ideas about what the team should be doing.

"It seemed to me that the difficulty lay in Brian's personality and the issue of whether he is particularly comfortable in the role of overall boss.

"Most of the players, especially the senior ones, picked up on the confusion caused by the lack of direction. Had a stranger walked in on any training session before the World Cup, he wouldn't have a clue as to who was in charge.

"Head coach of the England team demands management skills that, in my honest appraisal, Brian doesn't have.

"It [the team meeting after the South Africa defeat] was a touch meeting for Brian, something you realised when you heard Olly Barkley, who had worked with Brian at Bath say: 'Look Brian, no-one's got a f****** clue how we're supposed to be playing here. If you ask the 15 guys who played against South Africa to write down the game plan, you'd get 15 different answers'."

Catt, who has announced his retirement since the conclusion of the tournament, has mirrored Dallaglio's comments in his own autobiography being serialised in the Sunday Mail on the shambles of England's preparation.

"The prospect of going to the 2007 World Cup as a senior member of his team massively excited me," Catt said. "But from the start it was a struggle. There was no momentum carrying the team to France. Quite the reverse in fact. If we were to win the race, it would be from a standing start.

"Of greater concern to me was what I thought was our dreadful preparation. I found it baffling we did not seem to have done any analysis on our opening Pool A opponents, the United States, nor have a plan of what to do against them.

"In the little time we spent with Brian he said he wanted us to play a simple game in order not to give anything away ahead of what everyone expected to be the pool decider against South Africa six days later. He told us to think up some simple moves ourselves.

"My worst fears could not prepare me for what unfolded at the Stade de France [against South Africa]. We did not even win a kickable penalty. For the first time since 1998, England did not register a point as we lost 36-0.

"We had no game plan, no strike moves, nothing. We had no meaningful analysis on South Africa, we went into the game with no direction, no shape and consequently no belief. It was the worst week I had known in international rugby."

Pippa Davis / Eurosport