Agustin Pichot: I’m no Robin Hood but rugby needs change... it’s way too conservative

EXCLUSIVE
Battle: Beaumont and Pichot will stand against each other in the forthcoming vote
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Agustin Pichot has hit back at suggestions he is the ‘Robin Hood of rugby’ in his bid to shake up the sport.

And the former Argentina scrum-half insisted he was not on a power trip after a late decision to stand against World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont, who had expected to run unchallenged for another four-year term.

Pichot, who is already vice-chairman, has made no secret of his desire to improve the lot of the sport’s lower-tier nations, but insisted it would not be at the detriment of rugby’s big hitters.

“I’m not like Robin Hood that I’m going to take from the rich to give to the poor,” he said, ahead of Sunday’s electronic vote. “I like the Six Nations, for example, but think it can be bigger and better. But we need to share the investments worldwide, to have solidarity with the rest, more money in emerging countries.”

Pichot is in the final days of his campaign, run from his home in Argentina as the world remains in lockdown due to the coronavirus crisis.

The 45-year-old former Pumas captain has a six-point plan to change the face of rugby, which includes addressing Covid-19, scrapping the current World Rugby voting system (weighted, he believes, in favour of the wealthier nations) and growing the grassroots and youth game.

In addition, he wants to make the game more entertaining, with a new innovations department, mandatory player commissions to involve players in the decision-making process of the game and reviewing World Rugby’s internal structures to rebuild trust.

His is a campaign he believes dates back to his time in London, when he enrolled in a business degree at Brunel University, while playing for Richmond in the early days of professional rugby. “For me, this is about a vision for rugby and you need a vision and a sustained plan,” he said. “I learned a lot in Argentina but also during my time at Brunel. I learned different ways to make things better and that you have to challenge the system. You need to get out of your comfort zone.”

Beaumont had looked a shoo-in for re-election, but his campaign has been mired in controversy after one of his main backers, Francis Kean, stepped down from his position with World Rugby and the Fiji Rugby Union this week over allegations of homophobia.

Bill Beaumont retains the backing of the Six Nations
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However, Pichot insisted he was not prepared to do any electoral mudslinging. Of the Kean situation, he said: “I would never mention that at all.

"I’m very respectful, I’d never speak wrong about Bill. It’s just we have different visions. Bill asked me to stay on for another four years [as vice-chairman] and then take over. This is not about the power, I don’t have the ego trip to be the chairman. I’m proposing this as I have a conviction for something better.”

Beaumont appears to have the backing of the Six Nations, most of which Pichot has struggled to even get a response from when proposing his own manifesto.

“Rugby has stayed very conservative but it needs to be challenged and changed,” he said. “But that doesn’t necessarily mean anarchy. My changes won’t bring the Six Nations down.”

Pichot admits that rugby finds itself in limbo during the Covid-19 pandemic, but also sees it as the perfect platform for change. “You can see the crisis in two ways: go really conservative and take care of your own small world or make this an opportunity,” he said.

“This year won’t be easy and this pandemic has put as at a crossroads. But it needs a new vision.”

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