The Australian had been appointed to the Board of Directors of RWCL in March 2012 and is a former chief executive officer of the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) and was a member of the IRB Council.

"For my own personal reasons, I have resigned as a director of RWCL, effective immediately," said O'Neill in a brief statement.

"I wish the Board and management every success for both Rugby World Cup 2015 in England and Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan."

O'Neill was chief executive of the ARU from 1995 to 2003, during which time the Wallabies won the Rugby World Cup in 1999 and defeated the British and Irish Lions in 2001.

Away from the pitch, O'Neill played a key role in bringing the Rugby World Cup 2003 to Australia, which is reported to have earned AUS$30 million (£16 million/$27 million/€20 million).

After leaving the ARU in 2003, O'Neill ventured into football where he spent two years as chief executive of the Football Federation Australia (FFA) from 2004 to 2006.

In 2007, he returned to his role with the ARU where he spent another five years as chief executive before leaving the role for a second time in 2012.

O'Neill helped bring the Rugby World Cup to Australia for the first time in 2003 ©Getty Images



"It is with great sadness that the Rugby World Cup Limited Board has received and reluctantly accepted John's resignation," said IRB chairman and Rugby World Cup Board chairman Bernard Lapasset.

"The Board would like to thank John for his exceptional contribution and his tireless dedication to strengthening the Rugby World Cup brand, profile and profitability for the benefit of the global game.

"There is no doubt that his vision, energy, expertise and leadership has been instrumental in delivering the strong foundations for what promises to be hugely successful Rugby World Cups in England and Japan, while driving forward a review of future delivery of our flagship event."

The IRB Executive Committee will discuss the timing of the appointment of a new RWCL director at its next meeting in March.

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