BEAUMONT AND BERNIE v PICHOT AND PROGRESS

The wording of the headline gives you an indication of where my vote would go in the upcoming World Rugby Chairman elections. Surely rugby, with all the challenges it faces post COVID-19, needs a younger, more inclusive, more democratic leader rather than another 8-10 years of the England (Beaumont) and France (Laporte) self preservation society.

Beaumont v Pichot

What do the other media think?

BBC web site comment

Beaumont holds the upper hand largely because of the backing he is set to receive from the Six Nations unions, who hold 18 of the 51 votes between them - with Pichot expecting them all to support the former England captain. Rugby Europe has also pledged its support for Beaumont, but Pichot is being championed by the southern hemisphere Sanzaar countries (South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina), and has also positioned himself as a campaigner for emerging nations as he looks to shake up rugby's establishment.

"I am starting 20 votes against 14," Pichot explained. "If you take the Sanzaar votes plus the votes from South America, it is 14, against the Six Nations and Europe which is 20 - so it is a big thing to row [back]."

Pichot has been outspoken in his desire for change in the game, and says the current voting model, where the 'Tier One' nations - those that play in the Six Nations and the Rugby Championship - hold three votes each in the elections, is unfair. "We talk about values, but why do we have 30 of the 51 votes split between 10 nations? That is not the democracy of the 21st century," he added.

"Fiji has one vote and Argentina has three, why? Every kid in the world would ask you: 'why?' "I will challenge that. I am not saying everyone should have three votes, but I am saying that type of progress has to be done to make an equal game."

Guardian web site comment

As it happens, Pichot and Beaumont are proud, respected rugby men and former national captains. Their manifestos, at first glance, are not poles apart. It is less about personalities, then, and more about priorities and open‑mindedness. World Rugby, a vast oil tanker that traditionally takes years to turn round, is being invited to hand the wheel to a new skipper more attuned to the renewable energy sector.

If it feels like a significant moment, that is because it is. Starboard for eight more years of old-school diplomacy – by naming Bernard Laporte as his running mate, Beaumont may feel he is keeping the seat warm for the former France national coach – or port for something different.

That the vote will be conducted by private ballot and the result not announced until 12 May says a fair amount about World Rugby’s modus operandi. With the established nations permitted three votes while everyone else has to settle for two or one, this particular group of turkeys are not about to vote for Christmas. Self‑interest, as it has done for decades, shapes virtually everything.

Times web site comment

Agustín Pichot, who is running to become the chairman of World Rugby, says that the game’s power base in Europe too heavily relies on white middle-aged men meeting high ticket prices. Pichot, the vice-chairman of the global governing body, says the game needs modernising and wants to push for the power and economy of the game to be spread among a wider group of nations. He insisted that he did not want “change for the sake of change” but was trying to make rugby “a truly global game”.

During the World Cup, Pichot told Bill Beaumont, the present chairman and his opponent in the forthcoming election, that he would no longer play a part in running the game if it could not adapt quicker. “I said to Bill that what I was sure of was that I wasn’t going to carry on in the same position, just not pushing for change or having change slowed down,” Pichot said. “I truly believe that the game needs modernising and I think most people do.

“It is not change just for the sake of change. It is not a Robin Hood story. It is making the game global. If you don’t have that mindset and keep with the same countries and investing in the same places, you will never have a truly global game.” Beaumont is standing for a second term. The vote takes place by secret electronic ballot on Sunday with the outcome not being revealed until May 12. Pichot believes that the game is at risk by relying too heavily on its traditional European economic powerbase. “Look at the fanbase,” he said. “Europe is dominated by the UK and France and it is the over-50 and over-60 white male fan that is dominant.

So, a message to all Presidents of rugby bodies worldwide, save our beloved game, get rid of the dinosaurs and Vote Pichot!