The position was vacant. It is no longer vacant. The International Rugby Federation (World Rugby) has announced the appointment of Scotsman John Jeffrey (pictured above) as vice president of the body. He will replace Frenchman Bernard Laporte, who was forced to give up his seat as World Rugby’s number two after being pushed out of the presidency of the French federation. Candidates for the vice-presidency could be submitted by member countries until 11 April 2023. By that date, only Scotland had applied. Note: in order to be eligible to run, candidates had to be members of the World Rugby Council. John Jeffrey was the only one in the running and was proposed and nominated by the Scottish Rugby Union and supported by the South Africa Rugby Union. Once his nomination is ratified by the Board at its meeting on May 11, the Scot will complete the mandate started by Bernard Laporte, until November 2024.
