One of World Rugby’s most powerful figures has been found guilty of corruption in a Paris court. What does it mean for the sport in Australia?
A high-profile corruption trial in a Paris court is set to reverberate around the rugby world after one of Rugby Australia’s staunchest allies and a billionaire sponsor of the Western Force were convicted on bribery charges this week.
Bernard Laporte was instrumental in Australia winning the hosting rights to the 2027 Rugby World Cup.Laporte, who is also the French Rugby Federation president and the man credited with winning France the hosting rights to next year’s World Cup in controversial circumstances, will appeal his two-year suspended jail sentence and $117,000 fine.
The convictions sent shockwaves through international rugby and put the sport’s global governing body into damage control. The move leaves a power vacuum at the top of the World Rugby governance tree, with Laporte’s support in 2020 key to the re-election of president Bill Beaumont. His position, should it remain vacant, will likely be filled by an official from a major northern hemisphere union, a move that could shift the balance of power even further away from the interests of southern hemisphere nations Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina.
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