John Jeffrey ends World Rugby chair bid after Scottish Rugby Union fail to back him

Jeffrey, 65, has been vice-chairman of World Rugby since May last year and at one stage looked like being a shoo-in to succeed Sir Bill Beaumont in the top job.

He was initially the sole candidate but three others have since thrown their hats in the ring to take over from Beaumont whose eight-year term is coming to an end.

However, it is factions within his own union that have scuppered Jeffrey's bid to land what is considered the most powerful job in rugby administration and will almost certainly now deny Scotland a seat at the sport's top table.

The Scottish Rugby Union custodian group, chaired by Professor Lorne Crerar, wrote to Jeffrey this week to tell him they would not back him. Without their support, Jeffrey, one of the game's all-time greats and a hero of Scotland's 1990 Grand Slam triumph, felt he could no longer continue to pursue his bid to be chair of World Rugby.

He has written to the global governing body to inform them of his intention to withdraw his candidacy and will also step down as vice-chairman of World Rugby, a post he has held since May last year when he replaced the disgraced Bernard Laporte.

Jeffrey's decision leaves the way clear for the three remaining candidates to contest the November election. All are former internationals and include Brett Robinson, the ex-Australia flanker, who, if he were to win, would become the first World Rugby chair from the southern hemisphere. The other two contenders are Professor Andrea Rinaldo, who won four caps for Italy, and former France captain Abdelatif Benazzi, who announced his intention to stand earlier this month.

The Scottish Rugby Union Board's failure to back Jeffrey exposes deep divides within Murrayfield in recent years where an overhaul of the governance structure has led to a shift in the balance of power.

It is understood the Board, which has an oversight role, holds Jeffrey partly responsible for the financial mess Scottish Rugby currently finds itself in. The union posted a £10.5 million loss for the last financial year and have predicted similar losses for the following year. As a result, the governing body is planning on putting up to 35 jobs at risk across a number of departments.

Jeffrey was chair of Scottish Rugby Ltd - the operating arm of the organisation - between 2020 and 2023 before stepping down in April last year. Mark Dodson quit as chief executive earlier this year. Jeffrey has been replaced by John McGuigan while Dodson’s successor was named last week as Alex Williamson, although he is not due to take office until early next year.

It is believed that McGuigan backed Jeffrey’s bid to become World Rugby chief but the faction led by Prof Crerar and including Colin Rigby, the president of Scottish Rugby, refused to support the Kelso man’s candidacy.