Hopley anger as RFU decides to play dumb

Players' chief pushes for reviews into leaking of 'confidential' World Cup survey to be made public

Damian Hopley praises the new England coach Stuart Lancaster (Getty Images)

It is laughably ironic that the Rugby Football Union, unable to keep even the most sensitive documents under wraps during the gruesome aftermath of last year's failed World Cup campaign, should now be refusing to divulge the details of two separate investigations into a leak that left the English game sloshing around in the sporting sewer. Not everyone is laughing, though. The players' union, infuriated by the governing body's newly discovered gift for secrecy will use all means at its disposal to push for disclosure.

"We need to know what went on," said Damian Hopley, chief executive of the Rugby Players' Association, yesterday. "To let it fade into the background... we don't think that's acceptable. We feel disappointed, we feel let down, and someone needs to show some leadership. It was a challenging time after the World Cup, a torrid time. To come away from the investigations with nothing is incredibly frustrating."

Following the England party's return from New Zealand in October, both the RPA and the governing body held reviews into the on-field disappointments and off-field excesses that brought the national team to its lowest ebb in living memory. When Hopley and his colleagues canvassed squad members, guaranteeing that their responses would not be made public, they were presented with evidence of weak management, sub-standard coaching and deeply questionable behaviour by a number of senior players. This evidence was promptly leaked to the press.

Inquiries were launched within days: the first conducted by Monitor Quest, a London-based security and risk management company; the second by Judge Jeff Blackett, the RFU's chief disciplinary officer. Hopley said that of the 25 individuals who had seen the review material, from Twickenham secretarial staff to figures at the very top of the union's hierarchy, only one had refused to be interviewed by investigators. Might this have been the culprit? Was he still playing an active role at Twickenham? Hopley would go no further, for fear of legal repercussions.

He did, however, have some choice words to say about lack of transparency. "Our concern is that the investigations have simply gone away, that nothing came of them," he remarked. "I admit that the original review process was flawed, in that there was no right of reply for the coaches, but the leak caused so much collateral damage, so much damage to trust and integrity, that those responsible should have been rounded on.

"We're frustrated that we weren't allowed to ask questions of our own: we were told that employment issues were involved and it wasn't our domain. I'm not trying to blame the new RFU executives who have arrived at Twickenham in recent months – these people are doing a really good job in turning things around – but there has to be some accountability. At the RPA, we're accountable to every one of our 620-odd members. If I did something wrong, I know full well that I'd be marched out of the office."

On a more positive note, the chief executive did congratulate the new England coach, Stuart Lancaster, on his success in resetting boundaries and restoring a sense of common purpose to the red-rose set-up. "We thought that when the players went to the World Cup, they wouldn't be affected by the all the machinations going on at the RFU," Hopley said. "But it became clear that the moral compass was adrift. We're thrilled Stuart has been given the job. He understands English rugby culture and it's good to see how fortunes have been transformed since he became involved."

Newcastle, four points adrift at the foot of the Premiership table, face third-placed Saracens at Kingston Park tonight, and if they win they will fancy their chances of avoiding relegation at the expense of Wasps, their opponents in the final round on 5 May. The Tynesiders are unchanged after beating Gloucester last weekend while the visitors recall Owen Farrell and the wing James Short.

Rob Howley, the Wales assistant coach, will take charge of the Six Nations champions' tour of Australia in June. The head coach Warren Gatland is recovering from multiple fractures to his heels, suffered in an accident at his holiday home in New Zealand.