England's horseplay exposed
The 20 staff were filmed leading horses around a field and then taken for a slapup champagne dinner, the Daily Mail said Saturday in a report headlined: "It's the horsewhisperers!"
In the latest report of troubles in the England camp, the paper said the plan cooked up by England's head of athletic performance Matt Parker brought "grumbles of derision" from the staff.
Coach Stuart Lancaster and his assistants did not take part in the exercise, but backed the leadership skills effort, the Mail said without quoting sources.
Lancaster is expected to be dismissed after England became the first hosts of the global showpiece to be eliminated at the first hurdle.
Lancaster will oversee the England team for perhaps the last time on Saturday against Uruguay in Manchester.
England crashed out of the tournament after dramatic losses to Wales (28-25) and Australia (33-13).
According to the newspaper each staff member was: 'told to choose a horse to guide, and go through a series of routines which were filmed and analysed'.
The squad members had to even get their horses over a water jump and each task was filmed and then assessed on how well they "dominated their interactions with the horses and gained their trust."
The group were then rewarded with a haute cuisine dinner and champagne.
While nothing on the scale of the misbehaviour that took place at the 2011 World Cup under Martin Johnson has surfaced, the new reports will only add to the pressure on the quietly-spoken 45-year-old Lancaster.
His bosses at the Rugby Football Union have been in damage limitation mode all week, admitting flyhalf Danny Cipriani had a training ground bust-up with skills coach Mike Catt hours after being informed he would not be in the squad.
However, the RFU denied the incident had almost sparked a mutiny.
They has also denied claims the squad had been upset that Rugby League convert Sam Burgess had been selected in the squad ahead of specialised centre Luther Burrell, the first choice in the Six Nations.
Backs coach Andy Farrell has refuted allegations he had too much influence over selections, including that of Burgess.
Farrell and forwards coach Graham Rowntree have been barred from the dressingroom and stadium tunnel for Saturday's match after they admitted breaking rules by confronting matchday officials at half-time of the 33-13 whipping by Australia.
Agence France-Presse
