Sir Bill Beaumont

'A massive opportunity will have been missed': Sir Clive Woodward slams Fiji, Samoa, Six Nations for backing World Rugby chairman Sir Bill Beaumont

Writing in his Daily Mail column, the ex-British and Irish Lions boss has also grilled the Six Nations for having “let the wider game down” by supporting Beaumont.

An announcement was made over the weekend that Beaumont, the former England and Lions captain, was re-elected as World Rugby chairman after ousting former Argentina skipper Agustin Pichot 28-23 in a one-round vote.

Woodward was scathing in his review of how the voting played out, aiming his criticism at not just Fiji and Samoa, but also fellow tier two nations Japan and Canada for their backing of Beaumont.