The Board of Sport England decided to reduce the funding available to the RFU by £1.078 million ($1.738 million/€1.223 million) in May this year in light of disappointing participation figures.

John Steele, who at the time was RFU chief executive, promised to address the issue but was sacked from the post last month with the organisation having descended into major turmoil.

Martyn Thomas was also forced to resign as RFU chairman after a damning report into last month's sacking of Steele by chief disciplinary officer Judge Jeff Blackett, who is now thought to be considering his own position with the governing body.

Thomas warned he could take legal action if the Blackett Review panel's report was published, which called on the chairman and eight of the RFU's nine non-executive board members to stand down immediately, but while the legal action is believed to have been formally lifted, questions still remain over the RFU's leadership.

Sport England's director of sport Phil Smith questioned whether the governing body's changes would see the four-year funding plan to increase participation at all levels of the game stall but the RFU have now issued a statement aiming to address the matter.

"Government investment is very important to us and we are in talks with them about it," said the statement.

"We will be seeking to reassure them that they will live up to the commitments that we have made."

The final decision to reduce funding for the RFU was taken after Sport England's Active People Survey showed that the number of adults playing rugby union at least once a week has declined from 230,000 at the start of this funding period to 177,900 at the latest update.

Following the decision, Steele had said: "We have to accept that the failure to meet our Sport England targets over the last few years would inevitably affect the level of funding we receive.

"However, I now believe we have far more realistic targets for the next two years and we are committed to creating a sound platform for growth as we move towards the home World Cup in 2015."

Sport England chief executive Jennie Price had added that she supported "the approach being taken by the new leadership team at the RFU and the priority being given to the grassroots game" but it is clear further discussions between the two will be now needed due to the significant changes that are still going on at the RFU.

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