Bill Beaumont is a favourite to take on the role of RFU chairman © Getty Images

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Former England and British & Irish Lions captain Bill Beaumont has confirmed that he will apply to become the next chairman of the Rugby Football Union.

The 59-year-old, who was recently defeated in a bid to become chairman of the International Rugby Board, has set his sights on taking over from RFU vice-president Paul Murphy, who was appointed acting chairman in July after former boss Martyn Thomas stood down in the wake of the highly-critical Blackett review.

"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. I don't know if being a former top player qualifies you to be good at administration. But I'd like to think that I've got something to offer."

Capped 34 times by England between 1975 and 1982, Beaumont 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, who had served on the IRB Board since 1999 before losing out to Bernard Lapasset for the top job and his vice-chairman position to South Africa's Oregan Hoskins, believes it is a great time to be at the heart of English rugby.

"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."