From the field to the offices with a common denominator: rugby. Sir Bill Beaumont (Chorley, England, 71 years old), who as a player captained the English team and played with the British & Irish Lions, has been the main figure in the offices of the game’s inventors for 25 years. Between 2012 and 2016 he directed the English Federation, and since then he has been the president of World Rugby, the international. In his penultimate year in office, as part of an unprecedented official visit to Spainwent this Wednesday to the writing of AS.
Did you like the Spanish experience?
I enjoy Madrid and Spain. It is a great country for sports and culture. I am delighted to be here.
How do you assess the current state of rugby as a whole?
We are close to the World Cup (since September 8) and there are six or seven teams with a chance of winning it. That’s good. We have important challenges right now to develop this sport and that is one of the reasons why we are in Spain. We see this country as a very powerful rugby nation in the future.
Are you happy with the new Spanish Federation? Do you trust her?
Yes. It’s not an old-fashioned criticism, but we are and that’s reflected in the idea of Madrid hosting the World Series, which will be for the first time in history. Not London, not Paris. Madrid.
“Spain is going to have better matches and is going to be able to get closer to the elite”
What does Spain need to be elite in rugby?
We have to work together. The big competitions outside of the world championships are privately owned and resist change. But Spain is going to have better matches. Why won’t England come and play here? Why not Wales, or Scotland or Ireland? That’s what we’re going to do. We are designing a new competition in which Spain will be able to play against better teams and get closer to the elite.
Apart from the big events, like the final of the World Series of seven that Madrid will host between 2024 and 2026, how will World Rugby help in that growth?
We are going to send staff to advise on high performance, on women’s rugby or in general on everything we can help. World Rugby is not just about the Six Nations or Rugby Championship teams, but the whole world. We also worry about Georgia or Spain, which has a great opportunity.
Would you say that Spain is one of World Rugby’s main development targets?
It is. And we want to ensure you a competitive path.
Would you define Spain as a ‘sleeping giant’?
Yeah.
We have seen world cups in emerging markets like Japan. As of today, if a Spanish candidacy were to be presented, would it have any options?
We have changed our business model. We are going to Australia (2027) and the United States (2031). There is no reason why Spain cannot welcome you. He has already organized the football one, he has the stadiums and the passion. Why not?
Any changes to the World Cup format in mind?
An extension is possible. Maybe we could go to 24 teams, with smaller groups. We are always attentive to these issues and the changes could be for Australia 2027. Nothing has been decided yet.
Let’s get to the health of the players, a hot topic now that elite rugby has been shown to increase the chances of suffering from mental illness. Are you going to take any additional measures in regulating contacts?
We have advanced. We have made recommendations to the federations so that legal tackles are below the sternum. Then they decide to what level of implementation they want to go. It has been applied very successfully in part of French rugby. We try to make the game safer without giving up its essence as a contact sport.
What is World Rugby doing to grow the game globally?
We visit countries, we find out what they need, we work with the regions. What do they want? Play against better teams, more games, more money. They all ask the same thing, and that’s what we try to help them with.
“Spain is very strong in women’s rugby and I think it will accelerate even more”
Are you happy with the current state of women’s rugby?
We had a fantastic World Cup in New Zealand. Audience records have been broken. Spain is very strong in women’s rugby and I think it will accelerate even more. Let’s see how their matches against the United States go (March 25th) and South Africa (April 1st).
The last Six Nations has left a feeling of deep crisis in rugby English and Welsh. How do you assess the situation?
Crises usually end when you win the next match. England, under a new manager, have been disappointing. Against France it was a poor performance. Wales are trying to reshape their rugby union with a new committee that is sure to do well. England will be competitive in the World Cup, a tough team. They have Argentina and Japan in the group, it won’t be easy, but they are not in crisis. I would say more in a moment of disappointment.
Satisfied so far with your second term?
Two years have been marked by COVID. But when I’m done, I’ll look at countries like Spain and think: ‘we really made a difference’. And that’s why I got into this, it’s what I came here to do.
How would you define your legacy?
My legacy is that during the pandemic we kept the ship afloat and we have empowered countries like Japan. challenges? Mental health, the numbers of this sport… Many. But I also get rewards.
A necessary accolade after the ‘Van den Berg case’
Bill Beaumont enter the noble room of the newsroom of ACE and only stops at one of the multiple historical snapshots that decorate the entrance and the interior. “Is It looks!”, exclaimed the president of world rugby before the image of a triumphant Seve Ballesteros, arm raised before the British parish on his way to conquering the british open of 1979, that of his famous coup from one of the parking lots of Royal Lytham.
It is the prelude to a conversation monopolized by the interest of the international federation in promoting rugby in Spain“a very powerful market to exploit” in the words of Alan Gilpinhe CEO federative.
The visit of Beaumont and his entourage, which was forged with the dispatch to meet him in South Africa of a delegation from the Spanish Federation last September, is a boost to the new government of the RESheaded since July 2022 by Juan Carlos Martin ‘Hansen’. The reset of relations clouded by the ‘case Van den Berg‘, which led to the disqualification of the lions of the next world. “We have confidence in this Federation, and that is the reason why we are here,” Beaumont settled.
In the spaces that the busy schedule of the trip has left free, there have been work meetings in which the FER has presented its strategy. “An organized plan, a turning point for Spanish rugby”, summarizes ‘Hansen’, who asks to “believe” in the possibilities of this sport to catch up with other team disciplines with a history of success in Spain.
The directive’s mantra is that the Federation it has to be oriented towards “events” and generate its own resources. That with its six million budget it is not enough to invest in comprehensive development, which is what is intended (unlike other countries that only bet “for the men’s XV”, he points out Gabriel Saezvice president of Sports Area, Planning and Strategy).
In that company, ‘Hansen’ claims to have “the support of the entire general Assembly”, and with a “committed and passionate” team. But to get to the “highest level of international rugby”, where Sáez sets the bar, you need World Rugby. And it seems that this time the stars are aligned.
