• Yokohama’s back-up venue was the nearby Tokyo Stadium
• Oita and Sapporo explored too late in wake of Typhoon 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 versus France and other matches in Yokohama to Tokyo Stadium – just 14 miles away.
Super Typhoon Hagibis has wreaked havoc on the World Cup with England’s Pool C decider in Yokohama cancelled and Scotland’s pivotal match with Japan, scheduled to take place in the same stadium on Sunday, in serious jeopardy. Hagibis 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, measured at 870 miles wide.
Written by Exclusive by Gerard Meagher in Miyazaki
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/oct/11/world-rugby-contingency-plan-typhoon-hagibis-england-france-scotland-japan-cup under the title “Revealed: Typhoon contingency plan was to move matches 14 miles away”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
