Agustin Pichot delivers damning assessment of the state of the sport after his World Rugby election defeat… as Mail Sport’s Croqued Monsieurs catch up with the Argentine ahead of huge semi-final weekend
- Agustin Pichot has expressed his concerns about the current state of the sport
- The former Argentina captain is annoyed by rugby’s reluctance to change
- World Cup 2023: Click here for Mail Sport’s latest coverage from France
- Latest Rugby World Cup 2023 news, including fixtures, live scores and results
Former Argentina captain Agustin Pichot is concerned about the future of the sport ahead of this weekend’s semi-finals at the Rugby World Cup.
Pichot ran against England’s Bill Beaumont to become World Rugby chairman in 2020 after previously holding the position of vice-chairman, but was unsuccessful as he lost out by 28 votes to 23.
Three years on from his failed attempt to become chairman, Pichot feels rugby is at a crossroads and has slammed the sport’s reluctance to change, while also claiming he never considered any underhand tactics to win the election against Beaumont as he did not want to ruin his reputation.
‘I strongly believe that rugby is at a critical point,’ Pichot told Mail Sport. ‘You ask me, “what’s the solution?” Nobody has the key, obviously, but still a lot of unions are trying to keep the boys’ club way.
‘I would never phone Fiji and trade for a vote,’ he added when opening up about the election. ‘I could have won the election, believe me, but I wouldn’t go that extra step, because rugby is a special thing for me. And if I betray that, I lose respect. That is what I have in rugby. I think people respect me.’
Watch Pichot in the latest episode of Mail Sport’s Croqued Monsieurs – an alternative Rugby World Cup diary.
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