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, England) is a former rugby union player, and was captain of the England rugby union team, earning 34 caps. His greatest moment as captain was the unexpected 1980 Grand Slam win. He played as a 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 since 1 July 2016.

Early life and youth

Beaumont was educated at Cressbrook School, Kirkby Lonsdale (also attended by another England and British Lions player, John Spencer) and Ellesmere College in Shropshire. He joined Fylde Rugby Club, Lancashire, 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, 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. He toured Australia in 1975, Japan, Fiji and Tonga in 1979, and Argentina in 1981 with England. He played 15 times for the Barbarians, including the match against the All Blacks 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 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 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 quiz show '' A Question of Sport'', eventually becoming the show's second longest-serving captain (14 years in total), only being surpassed by fellow Rugby Union player Matt Dawson in 2018. The opposing captains were Willie Carson, Emlyn Hughes and

Ian Botham Ian Terence Botham, Baron Botham, (born 24 November 1955) is an English cricket commentator, member of the House of Lords, a former cricketer who has been chairman of Durham County Cricket Club since 2017 and charity fundraiser. Hailed as one ...

. Beaumont hosted two episodes of the show in 1996 in the regular host David Coleman's absence: Will Carling 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.

Rugby administration

Beaumont has represented England since 1999 on the International Rugby Board (now World Rugby). He was the tour manager for the

2005 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand In 2005, the British & Irish Lions rugby union team toured New Zealand for the first time since 1993, playing seven matches against first and second division teams from the National Provincial Championship, one match against the New Zealand Mao ...

. 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 World Rugby 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 Wooden Spoon 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

Bill Beaumont Cup The County Championship is an annual rugby union competition in England between teams representing English counties. After restructuring in 2007 the top tier of the Championship has been known as the Bill Beaumont Cup, after the trophy awarded ...

. Already

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE), he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the

2008 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 2008 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of the Queen's Off ...

. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in the Queen's New Years Honours list in 2019. He is a Deputy Lieutenant of Lancashire.

Footnotes

Sources

Profile on Rugby Hall of Fame

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beaumont, Bill 1952 births Barbarian F.C. players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Deputy Lieutenants of Lancashire England international rugby union players English rugby union administrators English rugby union players Fylde Rugby Club players World Rugby Hall of Fame inductees Knights Bachelor Lancashire County RFU players Living people People educated at Ellesmere College People from Chorley Rugby players and officials awarded knighthoods Rugby union locks World Rugby Committee members