Former Wigan boss Shaun Wane has been appointed as England's new head coach on a full-time basis.
The 55-year-old takes over from Australian Wayne Bennett on a two-year contract which will take in this year's home Ashes Series and the 2021 World Cup.
Wane left Wigan after guiding his hometown team to a third Grand Final at the end of the 2018 season and has spent the last year working as high performance coach for the Scottish Rugby Union.
Wane said: "I am honoured to be appointed head coach of my country's national team at such an exciting and important time for rugby league in England.
"Everyone who knows me knows that I've always loved the game of rugby league and been proud of British rugby league.
"I'm looking forward so much to starting work with the outstanding rugby league players we have in this country and also the guys who have enjoyed success in Australia in recent years, to do all we can to win the World Cup next year."
Former England captain Kevin Sinfield is to step down from his role as head of the England performance unit with immediate effect, the Rugby Football League has announced.
The move follows the appointment of Wane as the new national coach, taking over from veteran Australian Wayne Bennett.
Sinfield, who was instrumental in creating the performance unit in his role as the RFL rugby director, was a strong supporter of Bennett.
Sinfield said: "I would like to thank all the staff and players who have worked so hard on all the six England programmes during my time at the RFL.
"Our aim was to put the national teams at the pinnacle of our sport in terms of preparation and development, which I believe we have gone a long way towards achieving.
"I would particularly like to pay tribute to Wayne Bennett as England Head Coach. Wayne has always shown nothing but complete commitment to the England cause during his time in charge of the national team and the wealth of knowledge he has given to our players and coaches will enhance the game in this country for many years to come.
"His passion for this group of players to succeed in a home World Cup was evident every time I spoke to him about his players and I know it will be a disappointment that he cannot complete that journey with them."
Ralph Rimmer, the RFL chief executive, said: "For the last two years especially, but well before that, it has been an absolute pleasure to work closely alongside Kevin, who has always provided outstanding leadership, commitment and guidance to the EPU.
"We're obviously very sad about Kevin's decision to step down from his role at the RFL and the England Performance Unit.
"We did try to convince him to stay but he has made his decision, and every one of us at the RFL wish him the best in what we're sure will be a hugely successful future."
