Stormy start for England
Japan trip kicks off with 5-hour delay
ENGLAND were forced to endure an infuriating false start to their World Cup campaign yesterday, when they were left stranded at an airport outside the Japanese capital for five hours.
eddie Jones and his squad landed at Narita Airport — 66km east of Tokyo — at 1.46pm local time, but then encountered the disruptive aftermath of Typhoon Faxia, which had battered Japan’s east coast in the early hours of the morning.
With roads gridlocked and train services in the area suspended due to damage on the line, the contingent were kept waiting for their ground transport until shortly before 7pm.
Flights in and out of Tokyo were delayed, diverted or cancelled as a result of the worst storm to hit the city for 40 years with winds in excess of 100mph. Australia’s flight from Sydney was cancelled at short notice, putting back their arrival by 24 hours. england’s British Airways flight from Heathrow landed only 26 minutes late, but the problems began after the plane touched down.
First it was held on the tarmac for more than an hour, before reaching a gate to allow passengers to disembark. Then, after clearing customs, england’s players, coaches and back-room staff were left killing time in a lounge as their buses were caught up in jams.
Instead of arriving at their stop-over hotel in the Shiodome district of Tokyo in late afternoon, england eventually checked in long after sunset, with temperatures still uncomfortably high, amid stifling humidity. Their flight had lasted 11 hours 45 minutes so the additional five-hour airport delay was not an ideal way to settle into new surroundings.
Jones has repeatedly talked about the need to be adaptable but this was an inconvenience he would not have welcomed.
‘We are excited to arrive in Japan and we are looking forward to the tournament,’ he said. ‘We used the four warm-up games effectively and our ability to adapt to different conditions, different teams and different referees has improved.’
Whether the disruption has a knock- on effect on the team week remains to be seen. england are due to fly south today to the city of Miyazaki for a final training camp ahead of their opening fixture against Tonga in Sapporo on September 22.
Jones was met by a hostile reception from World rugby chief executive Brett Gosper after criticising the governing body recently over perceived officiating inconsistencies.
‘World rugby are as good as anyone to blame, I guess,’ said Gosper.
‘What we’re concerned about is that coaches respect the referees. If they want to talk about World rugby, hopefully it’s founded on some fact rather than just hearsay.’