LOS ANGELES: Bernard Lapasset was elected to a second consecutive term as chairman of the International Rugby Board on Monday in a 14-12 vote over vice chairman Bill Beaumont, a former England captain.
At a meeting near Los Angeles International Airport, the political struggle between Lapasset, a Frenchman, and Beaumont was settled on the first balloting.
Lapasset will begin a new four-year term on January 1.
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South African Rugby Union chairman Oregan Hoskins was elected as the new IRB vice chairman starting July 1, with Beaumont opposing him and losing out thanks to Lapasset.
After two rounds of voting were deadlocked at 13-13, the chairman cast his deciding vote for Hoskins, denying his chairmanship rival the chance to keep his vice chairman’s spot.
The votes originally were to have come in Auckland ahead of the Rugby World Cup final in October, but the council instead decided to postpone a decision that might have overshadowed the build-up to the sport’s showcase match.
Each camp sought to secure votes from smaller nations with threats of lost financial backing and developmental tours if they voted for the opposition.
That set the odd stage of Los Angeles, the most convenient air destination for rugby leaders from all corners of the globe, to decide who will guide the administration of the sport for the next four years.
Lapasset, a former president of the French Rugby Federation, played a key role in France’s successful bid for the 2007 World Cup.
The pressure was on for rugby's leaders to take the decision across the line as both Lapasset, 64, and Beaumont, 59, were set to see their tenures end on January 1 after both were appointed to their posts in 2007.
Privately, Beaumont is understood to believe Lapasset reneged on a ’gentleman’s agreement’ to allow him a free run at becoming chairman.
Host and eventual champion New Zealand complained during the World Cup that the methods used by the IRB to distribute event revenues meant they lost money by competing and threatened a boycott of the 2015 World Cup in England unless the situation was changed.
Beaumont, who captained and later managed the British and Irish Lions, was expected to support an independent review of the IRB’s governance structure had he been elected.
AAP
