The contest for the top job in World Rugby looks poised to take an intriguing twist before the elections for the governing body’s new chair in November – an appointment which has been described as critical to rugby’s “battle for relevance” on the global sporting stage.
There has been only one declared candidate to succeed current chair Sir Bill Beaumont at the end of this year, from the vice-chairman and former Scotland and Lions flanker John Jeffrey. However, Telegraph Sport understands that Brett Robinson, the former Australia flanker and current member of the World Rugby executive board, has been asked to consider standing against Jeffrey by senior figures in the Sanzaar unions, comprising South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and Argentina.
The post of chairman has been held by administrators from Six Nations unions since the late Vernon Pugh became the first elected chairman in 1996. Yet the Northern Hemisphere’s hegemony is now facing a serious challenge.
Robinson’s supporters believe the 54-year-old is better equipped than Jeffrey, 65, to deal with the enormous challenges facing the game, particularly in Australia and New Zealand. They fear the growing threat of aggressively expansionist rival codes like Australian Rules and rugby league, as well as increasing competition from other sports, falling participation numbers and financial pressures.
Doubts have since been raised by some unions about the risk of investing heavily in trying to grow the game’s footprint in the US market by staging the 2031 World Cup there at a time when the game needs the guarantee of a commercially lucrative tournament.
Robinson has been earmarked as a change candidate and one who also has depth of commercial experience and dynamism at a time when the governing body is embracing a 20-year growth strategy, as well as an ability to bring greater accountability to the executive.
Further soundings are expected to be taken during World Rugby meetings in Paris this week while the Sevens tournament gets under way at the Olympic Games on Wednesday.
World Rugby is credited with making good progress in shaping the new global calendar and improving player safety and welfare, while making changes to international eligibility. Yet the feeling among Robinson’s supporters is that the governing body needs to become more dynamic in its decision-making processes, to be able to rapidly respond to issues in the game and make it more attractive to supporters, broadcasters and sponsors, as well as address the financial challenges.
One source highlighted frustrations that it has taken five years to agree to trial the 20-minute red card – during which time players have been sent off in the men’s and women’s World Cup finals, and the Premiership final in England, with what they believe has had detrimental impacts on global showpiece events. There is concern, too, that supporters are frustrated by the stop-start nature of matches and too much defensive kicking.
“We need to be sharper,” said the source. “Our competitors don’t deal with bureaucracy. They just make changes to their laws there and then. We need to listen and respond to our fans. We are in a battle for relevance.”
It is not yet clear if Robinson will stand, given his business commitments as chief executive of a multimillion-pound retirement home company in Australia but, significantly, sources suggest that his potential candidacy has been met with open-minded responses from some European unions.
What is clear is that given the voting numbers, Robinson would have to secure the backing of at least a couple of unions in the Six Nations block if he is to topple Jeffrey, who holds the advantage of having already begun his campaigning by declaring his intention to stand during the World Cup in France last year, stating that he would “drive forward the changes required to futureproof the game in a timeframe that is short, and laser-focused”.
The former chair of both the Scottish Rugby Union and Six Nations Council has been a World Rugby council member since 2010 and was elected unopposed as the governing body’s vice-chair in May last year after Bernard Laporte was forced to stand down from the post after being found guilty of corruption charges by a French court.
The Borders farmer has already circulated his manifesto, declaring his intention to stand for just one term, described as a “1000-day action plan”. His vision is to ensure the game is “sustainable and growing” and vows to unlock participation, improve the experience for spectators and viewers, drive growth in new markets and move faster on diversity and inclusion.
Significantly, he says he agreed and supported the decision to take the 2031 World Cup to the US but understands “the concerns that some hold over the risk and reward” and is promising a “detailed review of all the information in relation to the Americas Growth Plan aligned to Men’s Rugby World Cup 2031 and projected return on investment”.
That, says Jeffrey, will ensure there is a “collective level of confidence in the plan… and ensure that the tournament optimises the best chance to capture the imagination of the American public”. A review of the “very costly” World Rugby Sevens programme is also promised, with the intention of exploring other models that lessen the financial risk to the governing body.
The council, which will elect the new chair, has 52 members, including the non-voting chairman, and each of the Six Nations unions have three votes each, with a combined block of 18.
The four Sanzaar unions also have three votes each, as does Japan, with Canada, Georgia, Samoa, Romania, United States and Uruguay each with one vote. The remaining votes are made up by the six regional associations representing Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America and Oceania, with two votes each.
Four years ago, Beaumont faced down a challenge by former Argentina scrum-half Agustín Pichot to win a second term. Pichot lost by 28 votes to 23 and promptly resigned from his seat on the World Rugby council and has since been an outspoken critic of the governing body.
Jeffrey’s challenge is to convince the Sanzaar unions that he is not an establishment candidate, representing the “old boys’ club” that was criticised by Pichot for protecting their own and failing to expand the game.
Robinson’s supporters, meanwhile, believe he is more of a centrist than Pichot, whose firebrand rhetoric did not bring enough Northern Hemisphere unions with him.
There is also the possibility of other candidates stepping forward, with sources suggesting Andrea Rinaldo, the former Italy second row and current World Rugby council member who is also on the European Professional Club Rugby executive board, could also stand.
The battle lines are about to be drawn.
Ellia Green won Olympic gold in 2016 and had a brief stint with the Warriors NRLW side.