England’s World Cup match against France is in jeopardy but the assistant coach John Mitchell and the forward Courtney Lawes are not wasting energy worrying about the weather
Listen to certain players and coaches and the super typhoon heading for Japan’s capital city may as well be a gentle breeze. “I think people are making it bigger than what it actually is,” suggested the England defence coach, John Mitchell. “It’s pretty windy and wet when you play at Exeter … it can’t be too different, right?” murmured Courtney Lawes, channelling his inner Michael Fish.
Such verdicts may have to be revised if squad members end up clinging to lampposts or struggling to stay upright in winds expected to reach more than 100mph on Saturday. Having been delayed for eight hours by a storm on arrival last month, England should know extreme events – two minor earthquakes have also caused tremors in Tokyo this week – are relatively common here.
Written by Robert Kitson in Tokyo
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/oct/09/england-laid-back-super-typhoon-threat-rugby-world-cup under the title “England adopt laid-back approach to threat of advancing super typhoon”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
