What is the World Rugby governing body?


World Rugby has a huge impact on the sport of rugby, even if some fans are not really sure what the governing body is. So, let’s take a look at World Rugby, the governing body of rugby.

What is the World Rugby governing body? World Rugby is the governing body of rugby union. World Rugby is the group that organises the Rugby World Cup, as well as introducing new rules to the game.

A lot of rugby fans may not be sure of how the sport is organised, but that is where World Rugby comes in. World Rugby is the governing body of the sport of rugby union. The main job of the governing body is to be the organiser of rugby competitions as well as make changes to the game where they see necessary.

World Rugby is made up of all of the member nations that have decided to become a member union. There are currently 108 member unions that make up World Rugby as well as 21 associate member unions. The whole reason for having member unions is it means countries that play rugby have a say in rule changes and the major decisions that World Rugby makes.

World Rugby was initially founded as the International Rugby Football Board, first created by Scotland, Wales and Ireland. It has expanded massively since that time and is now crucial in developing all of the rules associated with rugby. This includes laws of the game, international team rankings and organising major tournaments.

Where is World Rugby based?

World Rugby is the governing body of rugby, making some of the big decisions when it comes to rugby union. So where are the headquarters of the organisation?

The World Rugby headquarters are in Dublin, Ireland. To be more precise, World Rugby is located in Pembroke House on Dublin’s Pembroke Street Lower, with the building being renamed to World Rugby House when the headquarters were opened in 2015. World Rugby is still located in that building today.

It is hardly surprising that World Rugby is located in Ireland. Despite England inventing the sport, Ireland, Wales and Scotland were the three nations who founded World Rugby when it was initially called the International Rugby Football Board.

Who is in charge of World Rugby?

World Rugby as a governing board is managed by the nations which are members of World Rugby. However, there is one man appointed to be the chairman of World Rugby. That man would be Bill Beaumont.

Bill Beaumont has a huge amount of experience, being involved in international rugby for almost the last 50 years. Growing up in Shropshire, Beaumont joined Fylde Rugby Club when he was just 17. At the time, there were no professional teams and so England would pick players from domestic teams like Fylde.

He got the attention of England selectors and made his debut at age 22 against Ireland, then joining the team on their tour of Australia later that year. He became England captain for the first time at age 26 and in total he was capped 21 times as England captain, leading his side to a famous win over the All Blacks in 1979.

Successive concussions caused Beaumont to retire from rugby at just 30 years old, but he was not finished being involved with the sport. Beaumont has been an incredibly influential part of rugby professionalism in England. He has been the England representative on the International Rugby Board since 1999.

Having been massively involved in the governance of the sport, it was hardly surprising for Beaumont to apply to become the head of the Rugby Football Union in 2012. He was appointed as RFU chairman in July 2012. Four years later, he was looking at becoming the head of World Rugby.

Beaumont was the favourite to replace Bernard Lapasset as the Chairman of World Rugby. He was a favourite within the governing body, due in part to his work as the England representative. Beaumont was unanimously elected to office in July 2016 and still holds the position today.

World Rugby rankings

One of the things that World Rugby does is produce a ranking for international teams for both men’s and women’s teams. All international teams are ranked based on a points system. It is a points exchange system, whereby teams take points off each other depending on the match result and the winning margin.

The system was first launched in October 2003, just before the start of the 2003 Rugby World Cup. The use of this ranking has become clear. The groups for the Rugby World Cup are based on the ranking of international teams at the time of the draw. So, the top four teams in the world at the time of the draw are each placed into one of the four groups.

The system is very smartly designed as every win is not equal. The ranking also takes into account the strength of both teams, as well as the winning margin.

When was World Rugby founded?

Today, World Rugby is a huge factor in all of the decisions that have an influence on professional rugby as well as the amateur game. So, when was World Rugby created?

World Rugby was founded on the 5th of December 1887. The story behind the founding of World Rugby is a very interesting one. The laws of rugby were heavily disputed in the 19th century, which eventually led to a disagreement between Scotland and England after England had beaten Scotland due to a disputed try.

This led the home nations to try to create a governing body for the sport, as well as creating one clear set of rules. This led to Ireland, Scotland and Wales creating the International Rugby Football Board which eventually became World Rugby. England did not join immediately as they wanted greater representation due to having more rugby clubs.

But the other three home nations would not budge and so England only joined World Rugby three years after it had been founded. In 1890, the first international laws of rugby were written by the International Rugby Football Board.

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