Matt Williams joined Joe Molloy on Off The Ball for Monday Night Rugby with the political machinations of World Rugby the topic of discussion.

Bill Beaumont and Agustin Pichot are the two protagonists for the role as Chairman of World Rugby, to be confirmed in early May, with voting already underway.

"It is a political animal and that politics is weighted or skewed towards Europe in particular," says Williams.

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The battle for the head of World Rugby has been billed as the old establishment versus the young revolutionary, but the pair's manifestos are not that dissimilar.

"They are full of motherhood statements both sides," says Williams of the manifestos.

The former Leinster coach observed two major problems that are interlinked for World Rugby.

The structure of the global calendar being hamstrung by big European club commitments combined with the need for more international rugby to generate revenue and the game not helping smaller nations.

Needs and wants of French and English club sides

Williams teased out the problem for World Rugby being hampered by the clubs when international matches provide income for the unions.

"Where we are currently," says the Australian coach, "the structure of the global calendar is met by the needs and wants of the French and English clubs.

"The French season begins in August and ends in June, that's just amazing. They are just basically saying 'every game around the world has to fall into what we want' and the English clubs, not quite as bad but not far off."

"So we've got Bill Beaumont, who is a lovely human being, was nominated to his position by the French Federation, to go for running World Rugby. He chose as his running partner Bernard Laporte.

"So you have got an Englishman and a Frenchman at the top, both of whose power lies in the club system. Even though they say they are going to reform the global playing calendar, it is highly doubtful they are going to present anything that disadvantages the English and French clubs. so they are going to look after their power base.

"The problem with the global season is the only thing in World Rugby that makes money is International games."

"Club games except for an exceptional one like a European Cup quarter-final or something like that (don't make money)" said Williams, who has coached club sides across the globe.

'Hardly a club in the world that makes money'

"There's hardly a club in the world that makes money," according to Williams. "We know Exeter Chiefs make money, Leinster make money, we don't think Saracens does and if you look down in Super Rugby, there's no franchise that I know of in Super Rugby that's making money.

"I know the Waratahs, I was part of the coaching staff for five years there. They have been running at a loss for the last ten years. The only way the Waratahs can function is through the Wallabies because they make money."

"So for World Rugby, the calendar has to be reformed so we have a few more International games for every country so that everyone makes money and there are fewer club games."

"We gotta find a place to do that and the French and English are holding that back because they don't want to take their best players out to play more international games than there currently are."

"That's the financial juxtaposition," says Williams who then went through the inequality.

"The second part of that is the tier one countries really aren't spreading the love to the others. Japan is sneaking in as everyone is realising they are a financial powerhouse.

"But really they are not promoting America, the MLR has gotten going but really there has been nothing given to these other places to encourage it.

"Tier two, Romania, Georgia, Spain, Germany, Denmark, there's lip service but not much else and that's what this is about.

"It is the old versus the new, but it's really the top of Europe versus the rest. It's not north and south, it's the top of Europe against the rest of the world."

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