Sir Bill Beaumont warns Tests could be scrapped in 2020
Bill Beaumont during the 2019 Rugby World Cup Pool A match at Tokyo Stadium. PA Photo. Picture date: Friday September 20, 2019. See PA story RUGBYU Japan. Photo credit should read: Adam Davy/PA Wire. RESTRICTIONS: Editorial use only. Strictly no commercial use or association. Still image use only. Use implies acceptance of RWC 2019 T&Cs (in particular Section 5 of RWC 2019 T&Cs) at: https://bit.ly/2knOId6
World Rugby chairman Sir Bill Beaumont feels it’s a “distinct possibility” the Test rugby calendar could be scrapped this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The governing body announced on Thursday it was providing an £80million relief fund to aid national unions through the crisis.
The organisation is also exploring a way to return to playing and finishing the 2020 international calendar but the current global uncertainty led Beaumont to concede it may not be possible to hold any more fixtures this year.
“That is a distinct possibility,” Beaumont told The Times. “The pressures on the unions are getting greater and greater.”
Beaumont is standing for re-election as chairman of World Rugby but next month’s elections will see him go up against vice-chairman Agustin Pichot.
The former Grand Slam-winning England captain’s bid for a second four-year term took a hit when former team-mate Sir Clive Woodward backed the ex-Bristol and Argentina skipper.
🗣️ "It’s not about World Rugby giving handouts, because there’s no handout possible. World Rugby does not have the 400 million pounds."
🏉 ‘No bailouts for SANZAAR nations’ – Agustin Pichot. 👉 https://t.co/vcMpPVwCx6 pic.twitter.com/3RDOmcTj1M
— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) April 15, 2020
Woodward’s assertion that “rugby would benefit from being viewed through the eyes of leader who is 45, not 68” rankled with Beaumont, who said: “What difference does the age make?
“I played my rugby always as an amateur. Does that mean I don’t understand the professional game?
“I am evolution, not revolution. I am bidding to show a lead to colleagues, to take colleagues with me. I intend to be a leader. And I think I have been in the past.”
Beaumont’s running partner Bernard Laporte last week floated the idea of a yearly Club World Cup, an idea which could be the death knell for the Champions Cup.
However, Beaumont added: “It was a misunderstanding. What I can see is a Club World Championship, but not an annual basis. That is the way we both look upon it.”