Danny Cipriani was involved in a training ground bust-up with England coach Mike Catt just hours after he was told he would be omitted from the final 31-man squad, the RFU confirmed.

The Sale Sharks fly-half and the former Bath and London Irish back reportedly had a heated discussion on the training pitch, but the governing body insists the incident was swiftly resolved.

According to the Press Association, England have denied that the incident almost caused a “mutiny” in the camp and that coach Stuart Lancaster had ordered a cover-up of the incident.

A Rugby Football Union spokesman said: “Danny and Mike were involved in a robust conversation on the training pitch following a misunderstanding around a training drill instruction. Both shook hands afterwards and the incident played no bearing on selection.”

Cipriani, who could also have featured at full-back for England was omitted from the squad two days before the final 31 was officially announced.