Former England Captain Bill Beaumont has put his name forward to become the next Rugby Football Union chairman.
“I will allow my name to go forward,” he told BBC Radio 4.
“If people within the union feel that I could do a good job, then I think so as well.
During his playing career Beaumont, 59, made 34 appearances for England, 21 of them as captain. He also played seven times for the Lions, being called up as replacement in New Zealand in 1977 before captaining the tour party to South Africa in 1980.
Beaumont, who has been awarded both an OBE and CBE, was also tour manager of the 2005 Lions tour to New Zealand and has represented England on the International Rugby Board, of which he is now vice-chairman, since 1999.
Discussing his chances, he added: “I wouldn’t say that I’m the favourite. There’s no doubt there’ll be a lot of good people who’ll fancy their chances as well.
“It goes to a nominations process and I will allow my name to go forward if people in the union deem that suitable.”
Beaumont said he is “excited” about the future of English rugby as the RFU plans for the Six Nations, giving his backing to the policy of blooding new players.
“It’s exciting times,” he said. “Certainly after the World Cup, I think the squad needed to break up. A lot of experienced players have served England extremely well in the past, but you’ve got to look to the future.
“These are exciting times to move forward. We’ve got a build-up to a World Cup in 2015, which will be absolutely outstanding, but there are a lot of important decisions to be made before that happens.”
