Back on track?

Ireland’s Rugby World Cup pool clash with Samoa looks set to go ahead as planned in Fukuoka on Saturday, with the latest forecasts predicting that Typhoon Hagibi will veer north in the direction of Yokohama and Tokyo.

The Typhoon is still expected to cause some weather disruption at the Rugby World Cup this weekend but it appears Ireland’s crucial final pool game will not be affected.

World Rugby’s rules state that if a game is called off due to the weather – each team will be rewarded just two points. If that happened, Ireland would be in a situation where they could exit the World Cup if Scotland beat Japan, despite having not kicked a ball.

Fixtures such as England’s clash with France in Yokohama on Saturday 12 October however, are now in doubt. But there are still no certainties in any case.

“It remains too early to fully predict the movement and impact of the storm,” World Rugby said