England boss staying calm as typhoon blows cup off course
ENGLAND’S group decider against France tomorrow has been cancelled due to the approach of Super Typhoon Hagibis in one of the most extraordinary days in 32 years of World Cup history.
Each team will take two points from the abandoned Pool C showdown at International Stadium Yokohama and New Zealand’s encounter against Italy in Toyota City has shared the same fate.
Still under review, however, is the critical meeting between Scotland and Japan, which is also being staged in Yokohama.
Hagibis has been described by the Japanese Meteorological Agency as “violent” and has the capacity to cause widespread destruction around the Tokyo region.
Satellite images of the extreme weather event displayed at World Rugby’s press conference yesterday reveal it is the size of Japan and shows no sign of deviating in its path or decreasing in magnitude.
World Cup tournament director Alan Gilpin said the governing body’s hand was forced by the danger posed by the Category 5 super typhoon, which is on course to hit the mainland in the early hours of tomorrow.
“Based on advice, Hagibis is predicted to be the biggest of 2019 and highly likely to cause disruption in the Yokohama, Tokyo and Toyota area, including public transport shutdown,” he said.
“As a result, we have taken the difficult and right decision in the affected areas. The decision has not been taken lightly and is in the best interest of safety as a priority.
“All fans will receive full refunds. We are continuing to review Sunday’s matches and making sure they are played as scheduled.
“Assessment will be made after the typhoon has passed. We are advising all fans in Toyota, Yokohama and Tokyo to stay inside on Saturday.
“We looked pretty exhaustively at all the options. Important to note is that where we are is in accordance with what we said we would do before the tournament.
“Moving teams round on this scale and being able to deliver safely the exit of 12 teams... we couldn’t guarantee contingency plans consistently. If we can’t do it for all, we can’t do it for any.”
The first cancellation of a game in nine instalments of the World Cup was preceded by feverish planning but attempts to move games to Oita – the setting for England’s quarterfinal – proved logistically impossible.
England are now heading to Miyazaki – the setting for their pretournament camp which is on the same island as Oita – knowing they and France had already qualified for the last eight.
“I think the Japanese have a saying – shogun-hi – we can’t control it. It’s not something you can control. This is the situation,” said head coach Eddie Jones.
“We are excited about the prospect of having great preparation for the quarter-final now.
“Who would have thought we would have two relatively easy games, one tough game and then two weeks to prepare for a quarterfinal? So someone is smiling on us – the typhoon gods, maybe?”
Meanwhile, Gregor Townsend has called on World Cup chiefs to do everything they can to ensure Scotland’s win-or-bust clash with Japan goes ahead – even if it means playing the crucial showdown behind closed doors.
Scotland need to beat the Brave Blossoms to progress but cancelling the game would see the match recorded as a draw and spell the end of the Dark Blues’ campaign without them kicking another ball.
Such a shock move is certain to spark a huge backlash from the Scotland faithful, especially as World Rugby had previously insisted they had contingency measures.
The Scottish Rugby Union have already insisted it “fully expects” plans will be made to ensure the game goes ahead, with Murrayfield sources expressing concern over the competition’s sporting integrity if it were called off.
But having also cancelled New Zealand’s clash with Italy – effectively knocking the Azzurri out of the competition – it appears World Rugby are not willing to budge on their rules that state pool matches cannot be rescheduled at a later date.
However, Townsend believes there are other ways to ensure the Japan clash goes ahead.
The head coach said: “The weather forecast is much improved for Sunday and that’s what we have to keep faith with. We have to have faith that the game will be played, even if it’s behind closed doors.”