“We think Brett Robinson is the strongest candidate to lead World Rugby because we think he fits what the game needs,” Robinson said. “We’re very supportive of Brett’s candidature and looking forward to seeing how things unfold in the next few weeks but we think he’s got a really good shot at it.
“What stands out for Brett in our mind is the fact he’s progressive and of an age and era where he’s very connected to the player interest around the shape of [the] game, safety and growing value. He has young children who play rugby so he’s tuned into what’s happening in terms of teenage sport.
“He’s led a big organisation in RetireAustralia that’s had to focus on ways to be progressive and grow.
“In terms of his nature he’s curious, hungry for knowledge. He wants to understand positions and he wants to see the game thrive.
“He understands the competing nature of sports that rugby faces, predominately in this part of the world, but the game is not immune to having to differentiate itself from major traditional sports in places like North America.”
Former Scotland flanker and World Rugby vice-chairman John Jeffrey dramatically pulled out of the race to succeed Sir Bill Beaumont after his own union withdrew their support for him, leaving Robinson as the favourite to assume the mantle.
Nothing is ever guaranteed in rugby, though. From shifting the last men’s World Cup from South Africa to France, to Beaumont beating Argentina’s Agustin Pichot to retain the global chair role, rugby’s landscape is notoriously political.
Robinson hopes when the 52 votes are cast by secret ballot on November 14 – in the week between the All Blacks facing Ireland and France – unions will set aside self-interest.
“There’s all sorts of speculation and that will ramp up over the coming weeks with numerous phone calls about the vote.
“We hope people can stand back and focus on the core issues in the game, focus on the strategy needed to address them, and the right chair to bring the people together.
“History would say there will be times over the next few weeks where maybe that’s not the way certain people will approach it but we can’t control that. We’ve just got to hope we can help have the conversations for Brett to come through.”
The Six Nations unions have occupied rugby’s throne of power since the late Vernon Pugh became the first elected chairman in 1996. Before Beaumont’s eight-year reign, France’s Bernard Lapasset served two terms as chair from 2008-2016.
While a first global Southern Hemisphere leader would mark a sea change, Robinson suggests the rugby world is ready to move past those divisions.
England seconding the Australian candidate for nomination suggests entrenched views could be shifting.
“I acknowledge it’s inevitable for some people it will be seen as about the hemisphere but that’s very much an old traditional view. There’s a huge amount of collaboration going on between a lot of the leading unions,” Robinson said.
“We have very strong relationships with a lot of those Six Nations unions. I think a lot of people will be going into this thinking about what’s right for the game and the right person to lead and not with that old school mind of patch protection or looking after their own backyard or people.
“We think Brett would be the right person at the right time for the game. It’s not about the personalities, it’s not about north or south, or member unions they’re from but a set of key things we believe the person should have.
“Brett is incredibly well respected as a person and his personal resume speaks for itself in terms of the things he’s done in sport, academia, business. He’s excelled in all of those settings. He’s played the game at the highest level and can walk into a range of rooms and represent the game well. For all of those reasons we think he’s a great candidate.”
In terms of improving the on-field product and engagement Robinson believes New Zealand rugby is setting the blueprint for the global game to follow.
“If we look at domestic rugby this year in New Zealand there’s been fantastic engagement in Super Rugby, the NPC, Heartland and Farah Palmer Cup around the continued focus on less intervention in games, more free-flowing, shorter match duration, more ball-in-play time. That’s really important for us.
“When we think about the new markets the game has to grow into it’s got a far better chance of achieving that if it’s a product that differentiates itself from other contact sports, especially in areas like North America and Asia.
“We think a more open free-flowing game, less confrontational, fewer collisions goes hand in hand to supporting a safer game.”
Liam Napier has been a sports journalist since 2010, and his work has taken him to World Cups in rugby, netball and cricket, boxing world title fights and Commonwealth Games.
