Beaumont re-elected World Rugby chairman, calls for unity amid COVID-19 crisis

FILE PHOTO: Rugby Union - Rugby World Cup - World Rugby and the Japan Rugby 2019 Organising Committee hold news conference ahead of knockout matches - Tokyo, Japan - October 15, 2019. World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont speaks. REUTERS/Matthew Childs

PARIS (Reuters) - Bill Beaumont has been re-elected as World Rugby chairman by beating Argentine Agustin Pichot in the first round of voting and called for unity amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the sport's governing body said on Saturday.

Former England captain Beaumont won by a 28-23 margin to secure a second consecutive four-year term -- the result being announced a week earlier than expected.