Sir William Blackledge Beaumont, (born 9 March 1952 in
Chorley
Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came pr ...
,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, England) is a former
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
player, and was captain of the
England rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in men's international rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. England have won the championship on 29 occasion ...
, earning 34 caps. His greatest moment as captain was the unexpected 1980
Grand Slam
Grand Slam most often refers to:
* Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves
Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to:
Games and sports
* Grand slam, winning category te ...
win. He played as a
lock
Lock(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
*Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance
*Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal
Arts and entertainment
* ''Lock ...
.
He was Chairman of the
Rugby Football Union
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...
from 2012 to 2016 and has been Chairman of
World Rugby
World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...
since 1 July 2016.
Early life and youth
Beaumont was educated at Cressbrook School,
Kirkby Lonsdale
Kirkby Lonsdale () is a town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, on the River Lune. Historically in Westmorland, it lies south-east of Kendal on the A65. The parish recorded a population of 1,771 in the 2001 ...
(also attended by another England and
British Lions player,
John Spencer) and
Ellesmere College
Ellesmere College is a fully Independent school (United Kingdom), independent co-educational day and boarding school set in rural northern Shropshire, located near the market town of Ellesmere, Shropshire, Ellesmere. Belonging to the Woodard Corpor ...
in Shropshire. He joined
Fylde Rugby Club
Fylde Rugby Union Club is a rugby union club based in Lytham St Annes, on the Fylde coast in Lancashire, England. The home venue is the Woodlands Memorial Ground on Blackpool Road in Ansdell and the first team play in English rugby's Nationa ...
,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, in 1969 when he was 17 years old and stayed with the club until injury forced his retirement in 1982.
Playing career
Beaumont won 34 caps for
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, then a record for a lock, and was captain 21 times. He made his international debut as a 22-year-old in Dublin in 1975 as a late replacement for
Roger Uttley
Roger Miles Uttley (born 11 September 1949) OBE is a former English rugby union player.
Career
Uttley played 23 games for England both in the second row and the back row, five times as captain, and four tests in the Lions back row on the unde ...
. He toured Australia in 1975, Japan, Fiji and Tonga in 1979, and Argentina in 1981 with England. He played 15 times for the
Barbarians
A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...
, including the match against the
All Blacks
The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...
in 1978.
Beaumont took part in the
1977 British Lions tour to New Zealand
In 1977 the British Lions rugby union team toured New Zealand. The Lions played 26 matches, including four internationals against the All Blacks. They lost the series against the All Blacks by three matches to one. The team played as the Briti ...
after being called up as a replacement when
Nigel Horton
Nigel Edgar Horton (born 13 April 1948) is a former England international rugby union player. He toured New Zealand in 1977 with the British and Irish Lions and at the time played club rugby for Moseley Rugby Football Club
Birmingham Mosele ...
broke his thumb, and played in the final three tests.
He took over as England captain in Paris in 1978. He was an inspiring captain of the North of England, whom he led to victory over the All Blacks in 1979, and also of England, who won their first Grand Slam for 23 years in 1980.
Beaumont then captained the
1980 British Lions tour to South Africa
In 1980 the British and Irish Lions rugby union team toured South Africa (including one game in Windhoek, South West Africa, the future Namibia). The tour was not a success for the Lions, as they lost the first three tests before salvaging some ...
playing in 10 of the 18 matches. He was the first English captain of the Lions since
Doug Prentice
Frank Douglas Prentice (21 September 1898 – 3 October 1962) was an English rugby union player and administrator who played 239 games for Leicester Tigers between 1923 and 1931, was captain of the 1930 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Aus ...
in 1930.
Beaumont retired from rugby in 1982 on medical advice from doctors, because of successive concussions.
Media and business
Beaumont became a regular contestant on the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
'', eventually becoming the show's second longest-serving captain (14 years in total), only being surpassed by fellow Rugby Union player
in 2018. The opposing captains were
. Beaumont hosted two episodes of the show in 1996 in the regular host
stood in as captain for Beaumont's team.
He was the managing director of his family's textile business in Lancashire, which is the only remaining textile manufacturer in
, but resigned in May 2017.
(now World Rugby). He was the tour manager for the
. In January 2012 he put his name forward to become the next Rugby Football Union chairman, and was appointed as the chairman on 8 July 2012.
He then applied for the role of Chairman of
to replace Bernard Lapasset and on 11 May 2016 he was unanimously elected to the office, with his tenure beginning on 1 July 2016.
He is an Honorary President of the rugby charity
that funds projects for disadvantaged children and young people in Britain and Ireland.
In 2007 the
announced that the winners of the English County Championship would be awarded the
. He was
. He is a
.