With so many what-ifs, this tournament looks destined to have a permanent asterisk by its name
People sometimes talk about being blown away by a sporting spectacle. The 2019 Rugby World Cup is in danger of being remembered for the opposite. If the weather forecasters are correct, the onrushing super Typhoon Hagibis is way too big and powerful to be messed with. Not since the late, great Jonah Lomu burst on to the scene in South Africa in 1995 has a larger shadow loomed over the competition.
The first thing to say is that everything in life is relative. Calling off a couple of rugby matches is a gnat’s bite compared with the potential destruction, both in terms of human lives and structural damage, that mighty Hagibis may yet wreak. Roaring in from the Pacific is a storm which, in terms of magnitude, is three times bigger than the one which caused three deaths and massive disruption across the greater Tokyo area early last month.
Written by Robert Kitson in Tokyo
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/oct/10/typhoon-hagibis-leaves-world-cup-organisers-facing-a-storm-of-their-own-making under the title “Typhoon Hagibis leaves World Cup organisers facing their own stormy weekend | Robert Kitson”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
