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The impact of Bill Beaumont's election on Australia's bid for Rugby World Cup 2027

By AAP
(Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Insiders are confident that Bill Beaumont’s re-election as chairman of World Rugby will not hinder Australia’s chances of hosting the 2027 World Cup nor cash-strapped RA’s hopes of securing a multi-million-dollar payout from the governing body.

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Like New Zealand, RA had backed Beaumont’s challenger for the role, Augustin Pichot, but the former Argentina captain lost out 28-23 to the Englishman in a ballot of the World Rugby Council.

While French Rugby Federation president Bernard Laporte was voted unopposed into Pichot’s former position as vice-chairman and Beaumont will be in charge for another four years, Australia retains a strong presence at the table with Brett Robinson re-elected to the seven-man board and Brett Gosper remaining as World Rugby’s chief executive officer.

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A red card in the final moments of BBC’s crucial traditional match against Nudgee puts the defence under immense pressure, while the next generation of rugby players gain inspiration from the school’s Year 12’s

A red card in the final moments of BBC’s crucial traditional match against
Nudgee puts the defence under immense pressure, while the next generation of rugby players gain inspiration from the school’s Year 12’s. With the premiership out of reach, the First XV gather for an emotional final outing on Miskin Oval, while some of the seniors experience life-changing growth with the Ninja Warrior Program. As the sun sets on the 2019 campaign, the focus turns to reflection, growth and admiration of the goals achieved during a watershed season for the rugby program.

Video Spacer

A red card in the final moments of BBC’s crucial traditional match against Nudgee puts the defence under immense pressure, while the next generation of rugby players gain inspiration from the school’s Year 12’s

A red card in the final moments of BBC’s crucial traditional match against
Nudgee puts the defence under immense pressure, while the next generation of rugby players gain inspiration from the school’s Year 12’s. With the premiership out of reach, the First XV gather for an emotional final outing on Miskin Oval, while some of the seniors experience life-changing growth with the Ninja Warrior Program. As the sun sets on the 2019 campaign, the focus turns to reflection, growth and admiration of the goals achieved during a watershed season for the rugby program.

Although it will be disappointed that Pichot was not elected, it is understood RA has a healthy enough relationship with 68-year-old former England captain Beaumont to not be adversely impacted by his re-appointment.

After standing down 75 percent of its staff last month and cutting Australian Super Rugby players’ wages by an average of 60 percent, it was speculated that RA had been seeking $15 million of assistance from World Rugby.

There were reports that the huge financial injection would not be a loan but rather an advance payment of their share of the 2023 Rugby World Cup profits.

Rugby Australia has yet to comment on Beaumont’s re-election but New Zealand Rugby – who had thrown their support behind Pichot, who had pledged to undertake a root-and-branch review of the game with an emphasis on helping out developing nations – offered support but said Beaumont must recognise that the election campaign had revealed an appetite for change.

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“We are of course disappointed for Agustin Pichot as he had our vote, and it is important to us that whoever won the election will heed the calls for change to the game,” NZR Chairman Brent Impey said in a statement.

“There is still a level of governance reform that is overdue, and it would be good to see the courage taken to make the decisions needed to ensure the continued sustainability and success of rugby globally – not just for a limited number of unions and regions.”

Critics will point to the make-up of the new Executive Committee, which was also elected in the ballot, as evidence of the need for change.

The 12-strong body includes only three representatives from outside the game’s traditional heartlands – a Tunisian and two Americans – with one of those, US Olympian Angela Ruggiero, the only woman.

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Beaumont’s new four-year term will officially begin on May 12 when the results of the vote will be confirmed at World Rugby’s annual meeting of council.

– AAP

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J
Jon 9 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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