There is no need to panic over the current standard and state of English rugby - that was the message from a selection of Aviva Premiership directors of rugby on Wednesday.

As the fallout continues from England's dismal Rugby World Cup campaign, the attention shifts to the Premiership and then to the Champions Cup. But at the launch of the premier European tournament and as the Rugby Football Union's review into the World Cup continues, the masterminds behind some of the league's top teams came out fighting in support of the English game.

"If England closed out the game against Wales, as they could have, should have, then these issues would not be issues," Saracens boss Mark McCall said. "People need to get some perspective."

Bath boss Mike Ford echoed the Sarries coach, saying: "You can read too much into what happened in the World Cup. There is no sign of a crisis."

Instead, according to Northampton Saints' head honcho Jim Mallinder, it is tactics and England's game plan that needs attention as they boast players capable of winning the World Cup. He highlighted the form of England's top players at the tail end of last season and said that standard needs to be hit on a consistent basis.

"We have got a cracking product in England and we need to be more positive about where we are," Mallinder said. "We have got the players, without doubt. It is a question of getting the right blend together and doing what some of the other nations have done: getting a game plan, getting their tactics [right], strategy, recruitment , picking the right players for the right occasion, and knowing what the game plan is.

"We have the potential to do that. I look back at the rugby in Premiership finals, in European finals, with forwards handling the ball, backs running hard and being physical, and we are not a long way off. You have seen that in some of the games England have played in the last couple of years, against southern hemisphere sides. We just need to do that consistently. And we shouldn't criticise [the English club game] too soon or too easily."

Exeter Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter believes "the mood to me in English rugby seems pretty vibrant and exciting" and his crop of English players - Henry Slade, Geoff Parling and Jack Nowell made the final 31-man squad - have not been hit hard by England's poor campaign.

"I've got a group of very happy, very energetic, mentally fresh young men who are ready for the Champions Cup. Here at Exeter, we are all massively enthusiastic about what is ahead of us. Not everyone has been dented by the World Cup."