With the current IRB chairman Vernon Pugh having been sidelined for the past nine months with serious health problems, there is a feeling that the time has come for the body to appoint a new full-time chief.
Pugh is currently only able to work one day a week at the IRB with major doubts about whether he will ever be able to return to work on a full-time basis.
Syd Millar, who has been stepping in for Pugh during the chairman's current illness, is one name in the frame should the IRB decide to elect a new leader.
Other candidates include John O'Neill, the Australian Rugby Union chief executive, and Riaan Oberholzer, CEO of the South African Rugby Football Union.
Speculation is mounting that discussions over the election of a new chairman of the International Rugby Board (IRB) are set to take place at the governing body's annual council meeting next week.
