As Rugby Football League bosses prepare to deliver the results of the inquest into England's World Cup flop, St Helens forward Jon Wilkin has come up with his own plan to improve the fortunes of the national team.

Wilkin plays down the significance of the rift between the players from Saints and their arch rivals Leeds, which was revealed among others by Rhinos centre Keith Senior, but admits the heavy reliance on personnel from just two Super League clubs is a factor behind their collective under-achievement at international level.

No fewer than 15 of coach Tony Smith's 24-man World Cup squad came from Leeds and St Helens, with the remaining nine players coming from Wigan, Warrington, Bradford and Harlequins.

"If you look at the reasons why England weren't successful in the World Cup, the lack of unity between Leeds and Saints players was very low down the list," said Wilkin, one of seven representatives from St Helens.

"It wasn't something I found was an issue at all. I thought as a group of people off the field we got along very well.

"I grew up playing with Rob Burrow and Danny McGuire and I count them as friends.

"I think one of the issues in the game is that the England squad was made up of too many players from two clubs.

"If we want the England team to be successful, we have to spread the talent pool across Super League.

"And we have to do that not just do that by picking a couple of players from each club but by genuinely developing talent at each club and not relying on Leeds and St Helens, who have got the best development systems, to produce 18, 19, 20 members of the England squad.

"That's not constructive because you get two sort of polar opposite mentalities within the squad and making that gel is very difficult in rugby terms.

"And, if people don't gel in rugby terms on the field, then people make the assumption that something is wrong off the field when, in reality, rugby is the issue, not friendships or anything else.

"It can't happen overnight but, for the game to develop internationally, we need to make sure that every club's development system is up to scratch and that every club is developing three or four, maybe five, young players every year and not relying on foreign imports to top the squad up."

The Rugby Football League have begun to help wean Super League clubs off their dependence on overseas players by introducing a minimum quota for home-grown players but Wilkin believes they can do more by amending the salary-cap regulations.

He adds: "You can bring five young players in for the cost of one overseas player and for me that's a no-brainer.

"Maybe there is the potential for a bonus in terms of salary-cap allowances. I certainly think there is scope for something like that to happen.

"Maybe if players are brought through your system, a proportion of their wages could be deducted from your salary cap."

The RFL have consulted senior players as part of their review into England's performances in Australia, where their only win in four matches was at the expense of group minnows Papua New Guinea, and are expected to reveal their findings tomorrow.