Wales support Bill Beaumont

Beaumont has received a significant boost in his bid to be re-elected as World Rugby chairman after the Welsh union announced it is backing the former England captain. Beaumont is now expected to receive unanimous support from the Six Nations countries, which he hopes will be enough to give him the edge in a tight leadership race with Agustín Pichot.

There had been suggestions that Wales was considering giving its support to Pichot, who revealed it was the other member of the Six Nations to engage with him during his bid.

But the WRU chairman, Gareth Davies, has announced the union is giving all three of its votes to Beaumont despite some support for Pichot from its board members.

Scrum time for Beaumont and Pichot: the dinosaur v the dynamo.

With votes weighted heavily in favour of the more established unions – each of the Six Nations gets three, and Rugby Europe a further two – Beaumont would need only six more for victory, assuming there is no late change of heart from Ireland or Scotland. Pichot has the backing of the Sanzaar nations and the South American federation – worth 14 votes – and has been canvassing for support among the tier two nations.

While Beaumont’s campaign has been tarnished by the controversy surrounding the now-withdrawn nomination to World Rugby’s executive committee of Fiji’s Francis Kean, Wales’s three votes are likely to significantly help his bid. he winner will not be officially announced until 12 May.-The Guardian