World Rugby’s Bill Beaumont bullish about achieving fixture synchronicity

• Former England captain hopeful about reaching deal in early 2017• Player welfare remains top priority, adds chairman BeaumontWorld Rugby’s chairman, Bill Beaumont, has conceded that a deal to synchronise the northern and southern hemisphere calendars has proved harder to achieve than he imagined when he took the job this year – with “emotions running high” on all sides. But the former England captain said he was optimistic that an agreement would be reached by early next year after constructive discussions involving World Rugby and English and French clubs. “I came in thinking it w…