Bill Beaumont and Bernard Laporte at Le Figaro: "It's time to align the planets"

Re-elected Saturday for a second four-year principal at the head of the International Federation (by 28 votes to 23 for his former vice-president, the Argentinian Agustin Pichot), the Englishman Bill Beaumont will this time be seconded by the boss of the French Federation, Bernard Laporte. The two strong men of world rugby review for Le Figaro the uncertainties that hang over the future of rugby and the solutions they imagine.

LE FIGARO. - In this pandemic period, the future of rugby is in abeyance. Are you worried?
Bernard LAPORTE. - The health of players and spectators is a priority. But we are all worried, yes. To the concern are added many uncertainties, as for the resumption of rugby matches in France, whether professional or amateur, or with regard to international tests. Can we travel from one continent to another this year? We are awaiting government measures.

Bill BEAUMONT. - The problem is this uncertainty. We are in the middle of planning international windows. We will be ready as soon as we are given the date from which we can resume.

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Stopping sport causes serious financial difficulties. Federations are already in the red: The ' Australia, the É the United States ...  How World Rugby can it help financial è surely?
BB - World Rugby has just created an emergency support fund of £ 75 million (€ 86 million) available to federations, whether large or small. It is to relieve their cash flow that they remain solvent. But we know that it will not solve the business-model problems…

BL- Our emergency plans are entirely determined by the evolution of the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic, in particular physical distance and travel restrictions. Things are changing very quickly, depending on the country. Collaboration and consultations continue, we have a range of options to cover different scenarios.

"Harmonize the calendars of the North and the South"

Like many sectors, rugby will have to reinvent itself. First on the merits. Tragedies on the ground have grieved him in recent months. After taking initial steps, does World Rugby want to go further?
BB - This is an essential point. Zero tolerance for high tackles has already reduced the number of injuries. But we have to go further, imagine new experiments to further develop the game. I would like rugby to no longer be dominated by the physical. That all the templates can practice it again. I would also like to think about changing the number of replacements. But back to player safety. France, and Bernard Laporte, were at the center. In 24 hours, Bernard organized an emergency meeting, then a conference in Marcoussis with doctors, coaches, players and mobilized the government. We are following this subject closely, including for amateur rugby. It is essential when we see the evolution of the templates. And Bernard does an incredible job. He's a former coach. He knows perfectly rugby, the game. I benefit from his experience.

BL - France was unfortunately at the center of the subject with four serious accidents. We had to react quickly. The health of the players is a priority in our debates and will continue to be. We are going to carry out new experiments to always go towards more security. Thinking about the game itself is exciting. We are going to sit around a table to go further, to modify the rules. I have lots of ideas and I will share them. The players' physique is evolving, so the rules must evolve. It is a permanent subject.

On the form, now: Rugby can he do the 'ed economy of an overhaul of the competition schedule, the balance between national teams and clubs?
BB - There is currently a real dialogue, an authentic spirit of collaboration between the North and the South. We must take advantage of this to find an international period without too many duplicates with the clubs. We are currently discussing to regroup the next tours of July and November in one window, in the fall of 2020, if the tour of next July could not be disputed. And maybe juxtaposing these two windows is a better option for the future but we will discuss this with all the players in rugby.

BL - It's time to align the planets, yes, to harmonize the calendars of the North and the South.

“The World Cup is the summit of our sport and will remain so”

And launch a Nations Cup?
B. B . - It is our wish. By bringing the two international windows together, we could have two full months and offer a competition, with promotions and relegations. This would prevent the same ten teams from constantly clashing.

It is the weak point of rugby: to rest only on a dozen nations. World Rugby can it help nations é emerging?
BB - It's our vision.

BL - It is a strong will of World Rugby, Bill and myself. Create a big “Tier 2” ( the second international division, Editor's note ). It is in the interest of rugby to help develop as many nations as possible. I often take the example of the 2003 World Cup. I coached France and, in the group, we put 50 points in the United States, Japan and Fiji. Seventeen years later, it's hard to beat the Japanese and the Fijians, we're hooked by the United States. It shows that these nations have progressed.

Don't you fear that a Nations Cup will make the World Cup less attractive?
BB - The World Cup is the summit of our sport and will remain so. Everyone, the players, the supporters, are impatiently awaiting the World Cup in France in 2023. However, in view of the 2027 edition, we must ensure that there are more and more competitive selections in order to to go to twenty-four nations instead of twenty. And, in our project, the Nations Cup will not be annual because, precisely, there is the World Cup, but also the British Lions…

BL - A World Cup is seven weeks with the best teams in the world in one place. It is an event, it is THE gathering of our sport. I don't think it will discredit the World Cup.

"If we were to play behind closed doors, there would be a terrible uncertainty about the future of certain clubs"

In the shorter term, how do you imagine 2020? A great tourn e e d ' fall, a Six Nations matches in return ...
BL - We expectantly. Are we going to be able to travel, are the nations of the South going to be able to come to Europe in November? Until we have the answer, we, the nations of the North, are actually thinking of another competition if those of the South could not come.

BB - A problem is added to this uncertainty. For many federations, the selections are the economic engine. When I was president of the English Federation, England's games funded 2,000 amateur clubs. If they do not have international tests, many federations will have serious financial problems ...

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Are the northern teams' July tours in the southern hemisphere permanently canceled?
BB - It will depend on government decisions. But they seem very compromised indeed (note, a final decision will be made on May 12).

Under what conditions - tests for actors, behind closed doors ... - can we consider reviewing rugby in 2020?
BB - We do not have the answer to all these questions. It will be governments that will give the medical recommendations.

BL - We will have to be very careful. Players must be tested, it is not imaginable to replay without it.

BB - We should even test the players before each match…

B. L . - The sanitary conditions, the requirements will be very high. It poses a lot of questions but it is obvious that there will be tests. The second question is also essential, especially for professional clubs. Will there be spectators in the stadiums? Unlike football, French rugby does not live on TV rights. They represent only 20% of budgets. Clubs cannot do without the ticket office and the much more profitable hospitality. If we were to play behind closed doors, there would be terrible uncertainty about the future of certain clubs. The state would have to grant financial aid if it wanted to save professional rugby, which is so important for the territories. Otherwise, some clubs will close their doors for sure.

Rugby 7 and women's rugby, other priorities

With its Olympic label and its lesser constraints, rugby 7 is gaining momentum. A development that delights Bill Beaumont. “The XV and the 7 are complementary. VII players are specialists with other qualities, other technical skills. Then, in some countries that do not have enough infrastructure or strong enough competitions, it allows boys and girls to enter the world of rugby through schools and universities. The 7 is easier to practice for regions, nations that are new to rugby, such as Africa, Asia, South America and even the United States. They thus discover rugby. It is an effective development tool, ”underlines the president of World Rugby. "It's a large entrance door," says Bernard Laporte. Some will stay at 7, others will move to XV. It's a great opportunity to have these two disciplines. And if the 7 were to exceed the XV in number of licensees, it would be absolutely no problem. "

The two leaders also pay particular attention to the development of women's practice around the world. “For World Rugby, this is definitely a priority, poses Bill Beaumont. Our ambition is that women's rugby becomes more and more important. We planned to launch a global competition in 2021, with descents and climbs. We will see with the pandemic if we have to postpone it for a year. The English and the French welcome the rising enthusiasm and predict a “transition to professionalism in the long term”. 

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Englishman Bill Beaumont re-elected head of World Rugby, Bernard Laporte vice-president