Storm hits World Cup rugby

Typhoon – no, Super typhoon Hagibis, expected to be 870 miles wide, is due to hit Tokyo and Yokohama on Saturday night local time and is forecast to be one of the most violent in recent history. Besides the feared destruction, this has wreaked havoc on the rugby World Cup. A sport that rarely stops even for pelting rains is being threatened by something monstrously more ominous and devastating, at a very critical stage of the tournament. Two matches scheduled for Saturday have been cancelled, and Scotland’s pivotal match with Japan, on Sunday, is in serious jeopardy.

But this has evoked some extreme reactions from the barmy rugger fraternity, with Italy and Scotland most aggrieved. In a candid comment, All Blacks coach Steve Hansen (NZ was to play Italy) even said that canning the weekend fixtures was a “no-brainer”, something that even the famous American could have decided on.

Here’s the gloom-and-doom updates on the Hagibis.

“World Rugby’s failure to properly prepare for Japan’s extreme weather can be revealed with World Cup organisers initially making plans to move England v France and other matches in Yokohama to Tokyo Stadium – just 14 miles away,” Guardian wrote.