BACKLASH AS CHAOS GRIPS WORLD CUP
Mayhem and anger for teams and fans in path of the 160mph typhoon
THE Rugby World Cup was plunged into unprecedented chaos yesterday amid cancelled matches and recriminations caused by the approaching super typhoon Hagibis. On an historic day, World Rugby announced that:
England v France would not be played owing to the impending arrival of the storm, now classified as ‘violent’. The announcement came 12 hours after
Sportsmail had broken the story that the fixture was off.
New Zealand’s match with Italy was also called off — denying the Azzurri any chance of claiming a place in the quarter-finals.
The crucial clash between hosts Japan and Scotland could still go ahead as planned on Sunday in Yokohama, but it will not be moved or put back a
day, despite the outcome deciding qualification from Pool A.
Tournament officials confirmed the four teams affected by the cancellations would be awarded two points each — with the games declared no-score draws.
There was confusion, anger and upheaval for teams, officials and supporters as news spread about this unheard- of disruption to a World Cup.
It is the first time in the 32-year history of the event that matches have been cancelled. Both England v France and New Zealand v Italy were due to take place on Saturday in Toyota, which lies right in the path of Hagibis. The typhoon is set to rage through central and eastern areas of Japan, with winds forecast to reach 160mph.
England reacted to the dramatic developments by hurriedly vacating their hotel in the Shinjuku area of Tokyo. Instead of moving across the city to a hotel in the eastern district of Shiodome, Eddie Jones and his squad flew south to the city of Miyazaki.
This was where the squad held a pre-tournament training camp and their head coach expressed satisfaction about having the chance to recharge and prepare for a likely quarter-final against Australia in Oita next Saturday.
‘Someone is smiling on us — the typhoon Gods maybe,’ he said. ‘We are not concerned. We are excited. Who would have thought we would have two relatively easy games, one tough game and then two weeks to prepare for a quarter-final?
‘The players are disappointed but we’ve told them to get over it and get on with it. They’ll have a rest tonight and train tomorrow.’
The former head coach of Japan added: ‘I’ve been here for about 30 typhoons and there’s a reason why everything shuts down when they come, because they can be very dangerous. This one is supposed to be a big typhoon, so I don’t see any other option.’
Nor were there any complaints about bringing the tournament here in typhoon season, as he added: ‘If you never try anything new, you never know anything new. We need rugby to grow and they’ve done a great job. It’s the best-run tournament I’ve seen.’
However, Jones’s upbeat response to the tournament turbulence was not echoed by others caught in the chaos.
Italy were incensed at being denied the opportunity to take on the All Blacks. Conor O’Shea, Italy’s outgoing head coach, said: ‘No one’s mentioned the fact that we still had a chance to qualify. I’m not saying we would have beaten them but we deserved a chance to try. What a way to finish — being told in beautiful conditions that the game is off.’
The Scottish Rugby Union demanded guidance from World Rugby about plans for their game against Japan in the event of damage to Yokohama Stadium and the surrounding area. There was speculation the fixture could be played behind closed doors if there are concerns about safety but organisers were adamant that if it doesn’t go ahead as planned on Sunday, the match would be cancelled and deemed a 0-0 draw.
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend said: ‘ We believe the game hasn’t been cancelled because the forecast is much improved for Sunday. It looks like the game will be played.’
New Zealand must wait to discover if they will face Ireland, Japan or Scotland in the last eight but their head coach Steve Hansen backed the decision to cancel matches on safety grounds. ‘Of course it is frustrating but we can’t control the weather,’ he said. ‘Do we charge on and put people’s lives at risk or do we make a decision to make sure people are safe? It’s a no-brainer. There’s a lot of sympathy for Italy but the right decision has been made.’
World Cup organisers insisted they had only very reluctantly decided to call off matches, in the interests of safety.
Officials were at pains to explain that there had been ‘exhaustive’ attempts made to implement contingency plans, that fans missing out on matches they had paid to see would receive refunds, and there were no regrets about bringing the event to the Far East.
‘The last three weeks vindicates hosting a World Cup in Japan,’ said tournament director Alan Gilpin.