Scots not laughing at ‘Haggis’ now
TOKYO: As Tokyo braces for the arrival of Typhoon Hagibis, Scotland fans are no longer laughing at its revised appellation of ‘‘Haggis’’ as they hope it moves on quickly enough for their crucial World Cup pool game against Japan to go ahead tomorrow.
Two matches that had been scheduled for today have already been cancelled as the typhoon threatens to unleash recordlevel rainfall and winds.
If Scotland’s game against Japan in Yokohama goes the same way, the home team will advance to the quarterfinals for the first time and Scotland will almost certainly be eliminated.
World Rugby has said it had contingency plans in place to get the game played, with the possibility of a change of venue or the match being played without fans the obvious options, given a change of date is seemingly against tournament rules.
‘‘We have got to believe, and have faith in the organisers,’’ said Scotland coach Gregor Townsend, who added that the rules have a ‘‘force majeure’’ clause that gives the tournament some wriggle room.
However, many of his compatriots have taken to social media to voice their concerns that organisers may not be trying that hard to get the game played.
Days ago, they happily joined in the rechristening of ‘‘Typhoon Haggis’’ in honour of the country’s traditional dish of sheep’s offal but are now torn between pleading with World Rugby to get the game on and berating it for what some are viewing as a ‘‘conspiracy’’ to help the host nation.
The cancellation of the Italy versus New Zealand match cost the Italians a chance to play for a place in the quarterfinals and Scotland fans are concerned the same fate may befall their team.
A column in the country’s Scotsman newspaper labelled the move to cancel, and potentially cancel, games as a ‘‘shameful decision that undermines the integrity of the Rugby World Cup’’.
Scotland is still stinging from the 2015 tournament, during which it was denied a place in the semifinals by an incorrect lastminute penalty that handed Australia victory at Twickenham.
World Rugby’s subsequent apology did little to help overcome the sense of injustice.
And last week there was general incredulity when Samoa was penalised for a crooked scrum feed in the last minute of the match against Japan — the only time a referee has punished the offence in the whole tournament.
Japan was allowed to regain possession and went on to score the fourth try it needed for a bonus point that could prove decisive — at Scotland’s expense — if tomorrow’s game goes ahead.
Angry Scots were convinced that the game’s powers were favouring the home nation as they desperately want a tier two team, and particularly this one, in the knockout phase.
Townsend did not go that far but he did say he found the scrum decision incredible.
‘‘I’ve never seen a crooked feed call in a World Cup or Six Nations and to see it in a World Cup really surprised me,’’ he said.
And it is not just the Scots who raised an eyebrow at the pool A schedule, which gives Japan a week between each of its matches while everyone else in the tournament has at least one short turnaround. — Reuters