Fans have spent £5,000 and not seen one game

THERE were thousands of disappointed England fans milling around Tokyo after the announcement that their Pool match against France was cancelled because of Typhoon Hagibis.

Gullivers Sports Travel alone had more than 400 clients coming to the match some of whom were checking into the Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku as the England team were leaving for Mizayaka.

Two England fans, Darren Murphy, a teacher from Romford, and Ray White, a London cab driver, have shelled out around £5,000 to get here and still haven’t seen a game of rugby.

Cancelled flights and now the typhoon have scuppered their chances of seeing any game before they head back to England. They also had to find extra hotel rooms and ended up in the same pod hotel as The Rugby Paper.

Murphy took unpaid leave while the selfemployed White has been hit hard in the pocket. They will at least get their cash back for tickets at face value in November, minus some delivery charges.

White, who was 50 last year and whose trip is a present to himself, wondered why England’s game could not have been held elsewhere.

He said: “If it was relocated we would have made the effort to go and see it. It is a once-in-alifetime trip for us so you would swallow the extra £250 and jump on a flight and go because you are here.”

Murphy added: “It has gone belly up!”

But it has not been all doom and gloom for the duo. White said: “As a country it is so clean, so efficient. The people are so friendly and helpful. There is no rubbish on the streets, it is immaculate.”