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Beaumont has been speaking about Test player release ahead of Thursday's World Rugby vote on revised 2020 calendar

By Online Editors
(Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

Bill Beaumont believes World Rugby’s revised Test calendar window for 2020 will be voted through on Thursday despite concerns from the administrations running the club leagues in England and France. Club owners are reportedly unhappy that regulation nine, which governs player release for international duty, will be extended to cover the expanded Test calendar that World Rugby have recommended. 

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But Beaumont has outlined that the revision of the Test schedule will actually balance itself out in terms of player availability to French and England clubs, claiming the revised measures won’t see players away from their clubs more than they are in an ordinary year.

Speaking on The Breakdown, the weekly Sky Sport NZ TV rugby programme, ahead of Thursday’s World Rugby council vote on the revised Test window for later in 2020, Beaumont was hopeful the extended window plan will be agreed. 

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“They [English and French clubs] were concerned and I think they still are concerned that they could well be losing players but… because the English season, for instance, will hopefully kick off on August 15, the French season will start on September 3, and normally they would be missing a lot of players at the start of September because they would be playing in the Rugby Championship anyway.

“So look, World Rugby have made the decision that it is right for the global game, that we have to get international rugby up and running because at the end of the day that is what funds the game. That funds the game whether it’s the provincial game in New Zealand, whether it is the provincial game in England. International rugby funds that for every little rugby club on the planet.” 

Beaumont also hinted that World Rugby’s ongoing independent governance review could potentially shake up the allocation of voting rights to member countries. The Englishman was recently re-elected as chairman of the global rugby body, securing 28 of the available 51 votes in a head-to-head contest with Argentine Agustin Pichot.

However, the election was mired by criticism regarding the voting structure whereby smaller countries such as Japan, who hosted the most successful World Cup of all time in 2019, don’t have the same number of votes as nations competing in the Six Nations and the Rugby Championship.

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The six Six Nations countries – England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France and Italy – all had three votes, while the four Sanzaar countries – New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Argentina – also had three votes.

Japan had two votes while seven other countries – Romania, Georgia, Uruguay, USA, Canada, Samoa and Fiji – had one apiece. That gave a total of 39 ‘country’ votes. Then there were six regions – Africa, Asia, Europe, North/Central America, South America and Oceania – who each had two votes, giving a total of 12 ‘region’ votes – and an overall total of 51.

Featuring on the TV rugby show fronted by former All Blacks Jeff Wilson, Mils Muliaina and John Kirwan, Beaumont was put on the spot about the current inequalities of the current voting system. Broaching the subject, Muliaina asked: “The voting system, it’s not very democratic, is it? When can we see it change so the likes of the Pacific Islands can have an equal vote… when can we see that change?”

Speaking from Spain, Beaumont said: “Part of my manifesto was that there was going to be a complete review of the governance and that is taking place at the moment. “I’m not involved in that but certainly every union have the right to write in to Hugh Robertson, who is an independent chairman of that group, and they will then make their recommendation.

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“But if you think in the previous four years I was there, we had extra votes. We had Fiji, Samoa came onto the council, Japan got extra votes, Argentina got extra votes. There is an opportunity now for countries to get a seat at the table and get extra votes, but I’m not pre-judging what will happen in the governance review. Let’s look forward and see what that has to say there.”

Kirwan didn’t let the matter rest there, asking: “What would your personal decision be, Bill?”

Beaumont replied: “My personal decision is that you have to ensure they feel that the Pacific Islands are sat at the table, which they are at the moment with the exception of Tonga, and I think you have a situation now where it is voting where some countries have one vote, other countries have two votes, others have three and four votes and that is on a weighted voting system and that is something that was decided in Tokyo two years ago.

“We’ve obviously had the coronavirus (since then)… what I have had to concentrate on is trying to pull everybody together around this dreadful pandemic we have got.”

Beaumont further threw his support behind speculation that could see a Hawaiian club enter Major League Rugby and Fijian/Japanese teams included in a refreshed Super Rugby set-up. “We should do, without a doubt. What I have found interesting from watching your programme and reading in the press, certainly there seems to be a huge enthusiasm south of the equator.

“Certainly the team they are talking about putting in Hawaii in Major League Rugby, I have heard that Fiji or Japan could be invited into Super Rugby – these are decisions that need to be taken because we are in a position at the moment where players and teams have been travelling the globe and I don’t think this will return in the near future, so what we have to do is be creative and work together with our partners.”

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J
Jon 7 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

39 Go to comments
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Adrian 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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