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The Rugby Football Union has denied they had approached Australia coach Michael Cheika about the possibility of succeeding England boss Stuart Lancaster.

Australian press reports said RFU president Jason Leonard had made contact with Cheika during the Wallabies' World Cup campaign in England.

However, a spokesman for the RFU, England's national governing body, said: “There has been no contact.”

Cheika, contracted to the Australian Rugby Union until 2017, is now one of the highest profile names in international rugby coaching after guiding the Wallabies to the World Cup final just a year after taking charge.

The 48-year-old Australian also boasts an impressive club coaching record, having won the European Cup with Irish province Leinster and the southern hemisphere Super Rugby title with the New South Wales Waratahs.

A day after the World Cup final, which Australia lost 34-17 to defending champions New Zealand at Twickenham on October 31, Cheika was named World Rugby's coach of the year.

Read more at FoxSports.com.au