STATEMENT : RUGBY EUROPE SUPPORTS SIR BILL BEAUMONT FOR A NEW MANDATE AS WORLD RUGBY CHAIRMAN

Monday, 27 April 2020: Media release

RUGBY EUROPE SUPPORTS SIR BILL BEAUMONT

FOR A NEW MANDATE AS WORLD RUGBY CHAIRMAN

As the vote for the position of World Rugby Chairman opened on Sunday, April 26th, 2020, Rugby Europe has decided to take the position in favour of the project led by the current Chairman, Sir Bill Beaumont.

During its last meeting, which was held on April 8th by conference call, the Rugby Europe Board of Directors unanimously validated this position and gave its proxy to the president, Mr. Octavian Morariu.

The manifesto led by Sir Bill Beaumont and the president of the FFR, Bernard Laporte, corresponds to the priority actions necessary for the development of rugby in Europe.

Rugby Europe considers that the substantial work initiated over the last few years, in terms of governance reforms, the structure of men's and women's competitions and financial support for member unions, should allow our sport to face the current crisis and become better structured for the challenges ahead.

Octavian MORARIU, President of Rugby Europe: " We fully support the manifesto led by Sir Bill Beaumont and Bernard Laporte. It is a continuation of the discussions we have had recently and will have provided member unions with the basis for a stronger rugby world, better represented and integrating all the challenges of the sport of tomorrow. We are confident that together we will modernize our organizations and give our unions the means to win on and off the field."

Rugby Europe is the governing body responsible for the promotion, development, administration and management of international competitions for the 48 member unions across Europe. The association organizes over 80 international games and 20 rugby tournaments each year, among which Men’s fifteen-a-side European Championships (Championship, Trophy, Conference 1 & 2, Development), U20 and U18 European Championships and all the 7s men and women European competitions, World Cup and Olympics Qualifiers.

Contact : Sébastien FAYE, Rugby Europe – [email protected] : +33 (0)7 86 04 59 47