Scottish Rugby have issued a statement with regards to the possibility of their clash with Japan being cancelled and fully expect World Rugby to make the match go ahead despite Typhoon Hagibis.
World Rugby announced earlier today that both England’s game with France and New Zealand’s match with Italy will be cancelled on Saturday and that they will continue to monitor the situation regarding Sunday’s crucial Pool A match.
However, a Scottish Rugby spokesperson has told the media that they expect the fixture to be played in order to allow the team the chance to progress to the quarter-finals no matter what the circumstances are.
“We are in regular dialogue with World Rugby at all levels to work to ensure our fixture against Japan on Sunday can be played as planned. Public safety is the clear priority. With potential impact on our last Pool A fixture, Scottish Rugby fully expects contingency plans to be put in place to enable Scotland to contest for a place in the quarter-finals on the pitch, and will be flexible to accommodate this,” the spokesman said.
Any games that are being cancelled will see the fixture be put down as a 0-0 draw and both teams receiving two points. That system has already seen Italy denied the chance to cause a major upset against New Zealand and progress, with the All Blacks now going through as Pool B winners and South Africa runners-up.
While England will top Pool C and France come second as the French won’t have the opportunity to switch places with a win over their pool rivals.
Sunday’s clash is however the biggest game this weekend with both teams in with a chance of progressing and it would be a shame for neither to have an opportunity to prove they should make the knock-out stages.
Hopefully the game will go ahead as planned, but if not it would be a cruel blow to Scotland and after the statement one can imagine it would cause huge backlash from their camp.
