‘All Blacks Refused To Move Italy Game’ – Incredible Thread On World Cup Fiasco Is A Must Read
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Fiasco.
The unthinkable happened yesterday morning when World Rugby announced that they were cancelling two World Cup games in Japan because of the threat of Typhoon Hagibis.
Pretty much everyone is in agreement that they made the right call in terms of not going ahead with the games as scheduled because it’s simply not worth putting peoples safety at risk.
But at the same time, everyone is scratching their heads after World Rugby promised “robust contingency plans” only to cancel the games. Why couldn’t they be moved to another date? Why couldn’t they be played behind closed doors?
I did a piece on it myself yesterday that you can find here, but former England international Brian Moore has described it far better than anyone else with some fascinating insight too.
I'v spoken to people from World Rugby and the SRU today about the typhoon disruption. The following seems relevant –
1. All teams signed up to the tournament rules, but they were mindful of the 'robust contingency plans' said to be in place.— Brian Moore (@brianmoore666) October 10, 2019
2. The typhoon, whilst large and potentially destructive, will not affect the whole country. There are places where posponed games could be played on the scheduled days or shortly after.
3. 2 camps – those wanting to stick to agreement & those wanting flexibility— Brian Moore (@brianmoore666) October 10, 2019
5. Scotland will argue that the force majeure clause in the agreement allows the rules to be varied by agreement of the participants and World Rugby. I'm told that Japan are embarassed about the issue and would play later if allowed.
— Brian Moore (@brianmoore666) October 10, 2019
From me
a. Rules shouldn't be absolute in extreme situations. No team created the difficulty but some are getting an advantage.
b. Some say teams on their last chance should have played better earlier, but it depends on the pool draw. Some, like England, had easier games 1st.— Brian Moore (@brianmoore666) October 10, 2019
e. If it's too dangerous for fans, play behind closed doors. I'm sure fans would prefer this to their team exiting without a game.
f. The wider rugby/sporting viewers have already reacted negatively— Brian Moore (@brianmoore666) October 10, 2019
i. I'm constantly told rugby is a player's game and there are players, long-serving and single caps, who will not have the chance to play in another RWC.
— Brian Moore (@brianmoore666) October 10, 2019
