World Rugby has a new chairman: Bill Beaumont. He is charged with steering rugby into a period where the sport will face some of the biggest challenges since it went professional. We pinpoint five areas that Beaumont, the now former Rugby Football Union and Six Nations chairman, must address sooner rather than later.

1. Solve the global season and prioritise player welfare

Rugby works in four-year cycles, from World Cup to World Cup. After the 2019 showpiece in Japan, as things stand, there are no international fixtures lined up. This is because the various stakeholders either side of the equator are still thrashing out exactly what the rugby landscape looks like.

At present the northern hemisphere season is played from September to June, with the northern hemisphere from February to November. At international level there is a growing scepticism over the placing of the June tours while the division of revenue generated from the November Tests continues to divide opinion in the north and southern hemisphere.

Clubs are also becoming more vocal and hold more financial sway. Toulon's Mourad Boudjellal has been an advocate of separating domestic rugby from international to give clear boundaries to player availability. This has also been raised by the Guinness PRO12.

Beaumont needs to have a clear idea, a vision of exactly how these dynamics can be solved and he has prioritised it in his manifesto: "I will address the challenge of the global calendar immediately on taking office. World Rugby cannot be silent on this matter. This complex and important issue must have a solution designed to benefit the entire rugby community.

"We urgently need a structure helping rugby's global development and the global calendar continues to be one of our biggest and most complex challenges. A sound commercial structure is necessary to gain maximum benefit from rugby's position in the global sports environment."

Noses will be put out of joint but this is paramount to rugby's future as player welfare is also intertwined with this issue.

Players are running themselves into the ground. Concussion is a growing issue as awareness increases as is the number of minutes an elite player is grinding through in a year. Mandatory rest periods need to be introduced within the sphere of the new global calendar.

2. Increasing Tier 2 opportunity

The previous World Cup propelled the Tier Two nations into rugby's consciousness: the famous wins for Georgia and Japan, the affable Romanians with their brilliant, talismanic No.8 and the frequent dabs of brilliance from their counterparts. Rugby needs these Tier Two nations to improve, to challenge the status quo. Competitiveness is key to growing the game.

Japan's win over South Africa propelled the Tier Two sides into rugby's consciousness. Julian Finney/Getty Images

At European level, the Six Nations needs an overhaul. Beaumont knows the inner workings well having been its Council chairman since 2012. While World Rugby does not have jurisdiction over the competition, Beaumont is well-placed to use his clout to influence a restructure where at present the tournament seems steadfast in their opposition to change. Georgia must be given a place at rugby's top table with some format of relegation-promotion introduced between the Six Nations and its smaller brother.

In the southern hemisphere more needs to be done to develop the Pacific Islands both in infrastructure and rugby know-how at coaching and managerial level. Rugby has a duty to give that part of the world a chance to fulfil its undoubted potential.

3. Give more exposure to the women's game

The 2014 Women's World Cup was one of rugby's finest ever events. The sight of Magali Harvey sprinting down the right wing of the Stade Jean Bouin will stay with any who were there and lucky enough to witness it. The women's sport needs more of these showpiece events, with big billing and reach -- the hype and exposure should not be saved purely for World Cups.

One left-field option would be to have the 2017 World Cup on free-to-air television with a primetime slot. It has worked in football with the women's game growing in reach at a rate of knots -- the football World Cup saw a record 25.4 million United States-based viewers for the final outstripping the previous record for a football match Stateside by seven million.

Two of the stars of the Women's World Cup. (Getty Images)

The women's Six Nations matches should also be played before the men's on the same ground. And the officiating side of the sport needs an overhaul. The refereeing at the 2014 World Cup was substandard and the game deserves better.

4. Sort out the 2023 Rugby World Cup

The tenure process for the 2023 tournament officially ends in May 2017, but Beaumont needs to thrash out exactly what the lay of the land is in South Africa following their recent announcement concerning the hosting of tournaments.

Ireland and Italy are the other two bidders for the tournament but ducks must be put in a row to ensure rugby maximises the potential of their showpiece event. In 2027, the sensible option would be to give the World Cup to America.

5. Eliminate the ambiguity in the disciplinary process

The recent Joe Marler case from the Six Nations was an omnishambles. The Six Nations were caught off-guard over that nature of a disciplinary case and after the prolonged process of the World Rugby appeal, the right penalty was handed out.

The disciplinary process needs urgent attention. Rob Jefferies/Getty Images

But those grey areas need ironing out. Beaumont should look to establish a disciplinary process which leaves no ambiguity -- scales of severity are stuck to and should be rolled out across the sport.

"The disciplinary process protects the health and welfare of our players, addresses foul play and protects the game's image and reputation," Beaumont said in his manifesto. "I will place our focus on striking a sensible balance between consistency and common sense in such issues as those surrounding the on-field versus citing disciplinary process."