World Rugby: Brett Robinson (AUS) elected chair with 27 votes beating Abdelatif Benazzi (25 votes)

Brett Robinson (54), a member of World Rugby's executive council (since 2015), has been elected chair of World Rugby for a four-year term (2024-2028) "following two rounds of voting at the 2024 interim council meeting in Dublin (Ireland)," announced the body on 14/11/2024.

The Australian succeeds Englishman Bill Beaumont, chair of World Rugby from 2016 to 2024 (re-elected in 2020).

Brett Robinson thus becomes the first chair from the southern hemisphere to be elected at the head of the international federation.

Robinson was pitted against Andrea Rinaldo (Italy, 70) and Abdelatif Benazzi (France, 56) in the first round, which he won by one vote (21 to Benazzi's 20 and Rinaldo's 9), before edging out the Frenchman by two votes (27 to 25) in the second round.

"I look forward to now getting to work with the new World Rugby executive board and my colleagues in the member…