The fiercest rugby battle this week will take place in a five-star Dublin hotel [Video]

The lobby of the swanky Marker Hotel in Dublin will be a busy place this week, with conversations and coffees in the quieter corners. Their outcome could help decide whether an Australian will end the week as the most powerful man in global rugby, or if a revolutionary Frenchman will sweep to power.

The lobbying is taking place on the sidelines of World Rugby meetings, ahead of elections for a new chair of World Rugby on Friday morning (AEDT). Former Wallaby flanker Brett Robinson is one of three candidates for the vacancy, along Italian Andrea Rinaldo and Frenchman Abdel Benazzi.

Robinson, who has been Australia’s representative at World Rugby for a decade, emerged as the early favourite after announcing his intention to run in August. When his main rival, Scotland’s John Jeffrey, withdrew from the race …