Rob Andrew says he will not resign as RFU chaos deepens at Twickenham

Rob Andrew said he would not resign from his post with the RFU. Photograph: Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Sportsphoto Ltd/Allstar

Rob Andrew has insisted that he would not step down from his role at Twickenham as the fallout from England's disastrous World Cup continued to increase the pressure upon him.

While he conceded that English rugby has hit "rock bottom", the elite rugby director again distanced himself from direct responsibility for events in New Zealand and rejected calls for his resignation. Andrew said that he was "absolutely shattered" by recent events and should have done more to help Martin Johnson during the latter's time as England team manager. Despite howls from within the English game, however, he maintained he would not be stepping down. "No, I am not going to resign. If other people choose to make a decision that will be taken out of my hands."

But the pressure has never been greater as English rugby plumbed new shambolic depths on a day when:

• Brian Smith resigned as the England attack coach.

• The former England captain Martin Corry revealed that Johnson quit last week because of a lack of support from leading RFU officials.

• It emerged that there would be no immediate decision on Mike Tindall's appeal against his £25,000 fine and removal from the elite player squad.

• A number of former England players questioned the lack of leadership at the union.

• The former All Black wing and Italy and Japan coach John Kirwan said it would be "an honour" to succeed Johnson as England manager.

Smith's decision not to seek a renewal of his contract – he was appointed in July 2008 – was not a massive surprise, given the heavy criticism within the leaked post-World Cup player interviews published this week. The circumstances surrounding Johnson's resignation, though, are becoming clearer. Corry, a former Leicester team-mate of Johnson, said: "There has been a distinct lack of leadership from the RFU, particularly since the World Cup. Instead they just stayed quiet and let Johno take all the shit.

"He won't say it because he's too much of a man but it forced his hand. He said: 'I'm going to have to do the right thing and resign.' That's how he felt. It's left England in limbo. It could have been very different if people at the RFU had been prepared to stick their heads above the parapet."

It must be questionable whether Johnson could have survived Twickileaks, the blizzard of criticisms made by players during the post-World Cup review process that have been leaked, but Andrew's position continues to look precarious. While his role does encompass more than just the national team, he has now widely perceived as an impediment to radical change at Twickenham, regardless of the identity of Johnson's successor. "He will make sure everyone else is accountable and will do everything he can to keep his job," the former England scrum-half Austin Healey told ESPN.

Andrew, nevertheless, is standing firm. "Of course I've considered my position," he said. "There's been soul-searching the whole time, it's been a pretty tough 12 months for everybody here, there's a lot of stuff going on that shouldn't have been. But I don't have to resign. Other people may have that point of view if they want but there are lots of things going on here. I run a big department and I have to find a new head coach."

He described as "despicable" the leaking of confidential comments made by England players. "Whoever's leaked it, I hope they're found and action is taken. The review process has been betrayed and that's unacceptable. But you have to put the comments in context. When you get anonymous information like this, you have a huge responsibility to deal with that information correctly because you are putting people's reputations and lives at risk here. Players gave those views on the understanding they would be strictly anonymous. It's the lowest of the low to leak this sort of information."

The next crisis facing the RFU depends on Tindall's appeal. The hearing was moved to a secret location and it is possible the RFU's acting and outgoing chief executive, Martyn Thomas, will not give the verdict until Monday. Tindall is appealing the RFU's decision to fine him £25,000 for his conduct relating to a drunken night out in Queenstown during the World Cup. The 33-year-old was also dropped from the England squad following an RFU investigation that was conducted by Andrew and the legal officer Karena Vleck. The Rugby Players' Association called Tindall's fine "extraordinary" and "unprecendented". If the verdict were to be overturned it would add significantly to Andrew's problems.