STORMED OFF
Rugby World Cup chiefs finally admit England game with France is OFF due to typhoon Hagibis
ENGLAND'S World Cup game against France is officially OFF due to rampaging super typhoon Hagibis.
Red-faced tournament officials finally confirmed what everyone knew - there was NO chance that a game could be played in Yokohama as winds of up to 160mph batter Japan.
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It's the first time in nine editions of the Rugby World Cup that a game will not be played - and the cancelled matches will now be registered as scoreless draws.
That means England progress as Pool C winners into the quarter-finals and will now almost certainly face Australia.
The news was confirmed at 12 noon local time in the Far East, with tournament chief Alan Gilpin saying: "The Pool C match between England and France will be cancelled. The Pool B match been New Zealand and Italy will be cancelled.
“After extensive evaluation, we are confirming adjustments to this weekend's match schedule.
“This includes, regrettably the decision to cancel matches on safety grounds. Hagibis is predicted to be the biggest typhoon of 2019 and highly likely to cause disruption.
“We have taken the very difficult, but right decision to cancel matches.
“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.”
GAMES CANCELLED
Based on the latest detailed weather information, the following update is provided:
Friday, 11 October
Pool D match between Australia and Georgia in Shizuoka at 19:15 JST to be played as scheduled
Saturday, 12 October
Pool A match between Ireland and Samoa in Fukuoka at 19:45 JST to be played as scheduled
Pool B match between New Zealand and Italy to be cancelled
Pool C match between England and France to be cancelled
Sunday, 13 October
Every effort is being made to ensure Sunday’s matches will be played as scheduled. A thorough assessment of venues will take place after the typhoon has passed before a final decision is made on Sunday morning.
Gilpin added: “As you can imagine the decision has not been taken lightly and in the best interest of safety as a priority.
“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.
“Doing that on this scale, so many teams to move around, and to be 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.”
Meanwhile, England boss Eddie Jones believes the "Typhoon Gods" are smiling on his side as they scramble their stuff together on Thursday morning to jet down to Miyazaki on the south West Island of Kyushu to escape danger.
Jones, who has experienced his fair share of typhoons from his own time in the Far East, said: "Someone is smiling on us, the Typhoon Gods maybe?
"But we love Miyazaki mate, we love Miyazaki beef. We are Miyazaki beef consumers. We've got a special consignment. We've got 80 kgs coming on Saturday night. Billy Vunipola is allowed his beef again.
"We'll do a bit of light training Friday, have a good hit out Saturday, have some beef Saturday night, a few beers, and get ready for the week ahead.
"We found out officially this morning, but there were rumours flying around last night and we were glued to our phones.
"We are preparing for the game and we were in game mode and when it was off, we are in preparation mode. We can’t control it and we are told what to do."
He added: "We are excited about the prospect of having great preparation for the quarter-final now.
"We did get some leeway over the next three days and so we are off to Miyazaki for a short pre-season camp and then we are off to Oita. All I am interested in is getting ready for the quarter-final game.
"We have a fairly exceptional record in two-week preparations we are batting at around 95 per cent and so we have to find 5 per cent from somewhere.
"Of course, everyone is disappointed we are not play France and we put a lot of work, emotional, physical and tactical, but we don’t control the situation and World Rugby has made a decision and we have no issue with it and are just getting on with it."
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Pandemonium ripped through the competition as super typhoon Hagibis raced towards the south coast of Japan at 160mph.
The weather bomb is due to hit on Saturday morning, causing travel nightmares and bringing 10 inches of rain.
Japan 2019 suits scrambled together for an emergency briefing at their Tokyo HQ depots initially planning to MOVE the game 600 miles away to Oita.
On Wednesday disaster management officials were holding crunch meetings, having just recovered from Typhoon Faxai four months ago, which left three dead and more than a million in the capital without power.
The Japan Meteorological Agency also called an unprecedented urgent press briefing to warn of potential widespread devastation.
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England rugby coach Eddie Jones says he is disappointed by cancellation of France World Cup match
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