This archive report was first published on 9 September 2019.
Published on September 9, 2019, the Rugby World Cup is just 11 days away, but Japan's natural disaster hotspots are raising concerns about contingency planning for the tournament.
One of the key questions is what happens if a game is called off due to a typhoon or earthquake. According to World Rugby's tournament rules for Japan 2019, if a pool match cannot be commenced on the scheduled day, it shall be considered as cancelled, and the result shall be declared a draw with teams allocated two match points each and no score registered.
However, from the quarter-finals onwards, there is some wiggle room. If a knock-out match cannot be commenced on the scheduled match day, it will be considered as postponed, and will be re-scheduled to be played within the two days following the scheduled match day, or such longer period as determined by RWCL (Rugby World Cup Ltd).
Japan is one of the most seismically active countries on Earth, and tournament organisers are also bracing for the possibility of an earthquake disrupting the schedule. According to tournament director Alan Gilpin, contingency planning has been a huge part of the pre-competition activity.
"Our view is that you can plan for it. You've just got to make sure you've worked through all those different permutations," Gilpin said in an interview earlier this year. "We've got to be ready for the 'what ifs'... We've got contingency venue plans if we lose a venue to an earthquake or any kind of issue, (or) if we lose a major transport hub -- because it's not just about venues."
England coach Eddie Jones, who would be familiar with Japan's extreme weather as a former coach of the Brave Blossoms, has been quoted as saying there is "no doubt" typhoons will have an impact on the World Cup. He said the team would train indoors on artificial turf if weather conditions prevented them from playing outside.
While there is a non-negligible risk of a typhoon or an earthquake striking at some point during the seven-week Rugby World Cup, fans should be comforted by the fact that Japan is extremely well set up and resilient to natural disasters. Even with record rains and winds battering Tokyo, the world's most populous city, there was only one death, a handful of light injuries and fairly minor damage.
