TOKYO, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- Rugby World Cup organizers announced Thursday that two games scheduled for Saturday had been cancelled because of the expected Typhoon Hagibis.
The two cancelled two include the Pool C decider between England and France in Yokohama and the Pool B game between defending champion New Zealand and Italy in the city of Toyota.
Organizers will leave a decision until Sunday on the Japan-Scotland match at Yokohama, which is scheduled to conclude the group stage that night. Scotland needs to win that game to have any chance of advancing.
The Rugby World Cup said no matches would be postponed or rescheduled and the result of cancelled games would be logged as 0-0 ties.
The cancellation meant Italy cannot finish better than third behind New Zealand and South Africa in Pool B, and England will top Pool C without having to play France, despite both teams being unbeaten. If the Scotland-Japan game is cancelled, Japan will advance to the quarterfinals for the first time, along with Ireland.
The Japan Meteorological Agency is warning the typhoon may bring torrential rain and strong winds to central parts of the country over Saturday and Sunday, the last weekend of World Cup pool games.
It has urged people to take precautions to avoid potentially life-threatening danger. Airlines and train services anticipate cancellations in what is expected to be the most destructive typhoon of 2019.
Organizers had explored all options, including moving the Yokohama and Toyota games to alternative venues, but it wasn't logistically possible, World Rugby tournament director Alan Gilpin said.
The Scotland team issued a statement saying it was working to ensure the game against Japan goes ahead. Scotland ended Japan's chances of reaching the quarterfinals in 2015.
Gilpin said all 20 teams were aware of the cancellation policies well before the World Cup kicked off, so he wasn't expecting any protests or legal pushback from teams deprived of games.
Friday's Pool D game between Australia and Georgia at Shizuoka, and Saturday's game between Ireland and Samoa at Fukuoka are going ahead as scheduled.
