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John Jeffrey says he feels “bitter and betrayed” after withdrawing from the race to become World Rugby’s next president, after failing to secure the support of the Scottish Rugby Union.
The former Scotland and Lions flanker, 65, was informed on Friday that the SRU would not support his candidacy, throwing the election campaign into disarray.
Jeffrey, who played for Scotland in the 1990 Grand Slam triumph over England, has resigned from all his current positions, including vice-president of World Rugby and president of the Six Nations, with immediate effect following the humiliating snub of his attempt to succeed Sir Bill. Beaumont.
His shock resignation leaves the door open for Brett Robinson, former Australian flanker and current World Rugby board member, to win the November election and become the first president from the southern hemisphere since the position became elected in 1996.
Jeffrey was the only credible candidate from the northern hemisphere, but sources indicated that a candidate from South Africa or Argentina could now run, along with Gus Pichot, who ran against Beaumont four years ago. years, among those expected to throw in their hat. the ring.
“I know I was favorite to win”
“I am very bitter. I’m very upset – very, very upset. Being beaten by your own country really hurts,” Jeffrey told BBC Sport Scotland.
“It was a huge shock. This does not reflect well on us as a country. People are now laughing at us – “you said you were up and now you’re not”. I don’t know if they’re laughing at me or if they’re laughing at Scottish Rugby, but they’re certainly laughing. This does not reflect well the [SRU] advice.
“There’s a lot of politics. I know I was favored to win. There was opposition from candidates from Italy, France and Australia and if I had been beaten by any of them I would have shaken their hand and said ‘well done’. What really sticks in my throat is that I was beaten by my own country. My own country withdrew its candidacy at the last minute, which is beyond belief. Betrayed is not too strong a word. I’m leaving, I’m going back to farming.
In an interview with Telegraph sportJeffrey claimed the decision to withdraw his support stemmed from his strong opposition to a governance restructuring in 2022 which led to the creation of Scottish Rugby Limited as an operating company with a Scottish Rugby Union board created to act as “guardians of the game”.
Jeffrey had been assured of the support of Scottish Rugby Limited chairman John McGuigan when the rumors first surfaced six weeks ago. However, it appears the Scottish Rugby Board held the deciding vote.
He said his candidacy had been undermined from within, with other unions told he did not have the support of the SRU.
“I was driven down a garden path for a year and then they pulled the plug at the eleventh hour,” he said. “If they had any decency they could have said at the beginning that we were never going to support you, but instead, throughout I feel like I’ve been played and that’s not not the way to treat anyone, no matter your past. It leaves a very sour taste. I wanted to leave with my dignity intact and some honesty and I hope I achieved that. a lot of people I knew on that board who now seem completely opposed to me, but I keep being reminded that this is rugby politics.
“There were tensions, but surely we could have put all that behind us for the common good. But since I don’t have their support or trust, I thought it was okay to resign from all these positions. So I have resigned from World Rugby and the Six Nations as of today because I don’t believe I can do it. I truly represent Scottish rugby even though I don’t have the support of the Union.
‘Scotland are now back to square one and that’s not good’
Jeffrey warned the unedifying episode would be deeply damaging to Scotland’s reputation and that it would take another decade for a Scottish representative to reach the top of World Rugby.
“I could have easily stayed another two months, going to meetings and feeling like a lame duck, but it’s a waste of everyone’s time and money,” he added.
“But I did it with immense regret. It takes years to build these relationships within the Six Nations and international rugby bodies. We managed to find someone in those positions, but we are now back to square one and that is not good for Scottish rugby as a whole, let alone the debate over the global game.
“I guarantee you that we will not find any more people in these positions for 10 years. Instead, we are back to the bad old days of infighting and politics. I’ll put my hand up and say I’m one of them, but the Scottish fans must be fed up. We have a great team on the pitch, but off the pitch there are always these constant fights. All I’ll tell them is I’m sorry, that’s not how I wanted to leave the game. But that decision was taken away from me.
Robinson favorite to win the election
Telegraph sport revealed in July that Robinson had been persuaded to stand with Sanzaar against Jeffrey, who had announced his intention to run at last year’s World Cup in France.
The former president of the Scottish Rugby Union and Six Nations Council had been a member of the World Rugby council since 2010 and was elected unopposed as vice-president of the governing body in May last year after Bernard Laporte was forced to resign from his post after being found guilty of corruption by a French court.
The Borders farmer has already circulated his manifesto, announcing his intention to run for a single term, described as a “1,000 day action plan”. Its vision is to ensure gaming is “sustainable and growing” and is committed to unlocking participation, improving the spectator and viewer experience, driving growth in new markets and advancing faster in diversity and inclusion.
Robinson is now the hot favorite to secure the support of the World Rugby board in the November election, with the other two candidates, former France striker Abdel Benazzi and Andrea Rinaldo, the former Italy international, unlikely to attract enough support within the council. the Six Nations or Sanzaar to challenge the Australian.
The council, which will elect the new president, has 52 members, including the non-voting president, and each of the Six Nations unions has three votes each, with a combined bloc of 18.
The four Sanzaar unions also have three votes each, as does Japan, while Canada, Georgia, Samoa, Romania, the United States and Uruguay each have one vote. The remaining votes are made up of the six regional associations representing Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America and Oceania, with two votes each.
