Lawrence Dallaglio: England can benefit from cancelled match and World Rugby not to blame
As the Rugby World Cup is thrown into turmoil by Typhoon Hagibis, England have fled the eye of the storm.
World Rugby’s unprecedented decision to cancel two fixtures in Tokyo and Yokohama that were set to be hit by 100mph winds has ensured England will top their pool ahead of France and likely meet Australia in the quarter-finals.
England did not hesitate to change their plans, flying back back to their original base in Miyazaki, south-west Japan, close to the location of next weekend’s fixture, while Eddie Jones called the extra preparation time “ideal”.
World Cup-winning former skipper Lawrence Dallaglio agrees with the head coach, even if the match with France was a chance to get battle-hardened ahead of harder ties.
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“It’s a resort by the sea and an opportunity for them to get away from the problems that the tournament and Tokyo is facing,” Dallaglio told City PM
“Eddie Jones has great experience of how to manage situations in Japan, having spent a lot of time there, and has decided their preparation is best served by being out of the typhoon and down in the south.
“It gives them a chance to get Billy Vunipola fit and Owen Farrell back on his feet. You can understand why Jones is delighted about the break because it means he doesn’t have to juggle his squad. He can let the medical team go to work and do what they need to do.
“But equally the France game was probably a test that England needed before the quarter-finals.”
Safety first
England will now have 14 days between games, while Australia, who were due to face Georgia on Friday morning, will only have eight.
It is one of many potential consequences of cancelling matches that fans and unions are likely to use as ammunition against World Rugby, particularly if the typhoon does not wreak the chaos anticipated. Italy, meanwhile, have been eliminated as a result of their scheduled match with New Zealand being axed.
But Dallaglio does not blame the organisers.
“We have to appreciate this is something very serious,” he added. “This is not about not respecting rugby, it’s about respecting the weather and the power and havoc it can cause. This is the largest typhoon Japan have experienced for over 26 years.
“It’s terribly unfortunate for everyone. [Tournament director] Alan Gilpin and his colleagues have acted swiftly and decisively. Yes, it’s hugely disappointing for the fans who have forked out a lot of money to travel to Japan, and for the teams and players, but the reality is that no rugby match is more important than the safety and preservation of human life.
“Every coach and administrator agreed until the end of the pool matches that if anything had to be cancelled for this reason the points would be shared. Everyone signed up not believing for one second it would happen, but it appears the only person that thought it might was Eddie Jones.”
At this stage it is not known how severe an impact the typhoon will have, although meteorologists have said it is four times bigger than Typhoon Faxai which left three dead last month.
Scotland’s make-or-break game with Japan on Sunday is also at risk of cancellation, with organisers set to decide its fate as late as six hours prior to kick-off. If it is also cancelled and Ireland beat Samoa on Saturday, Scotland will be eliminated.
Crunch time
That is not England’s concern, however. As others are left to deal with the typhoon fallout, Jones will be getting his side ready to take on the best in the world over the coming weeks.
“They are three games away from winning a World Cup,” Dallaglio says. “Every game now is a challenge and they are going to have to go to Australia, New Zealand and one other in the final, but England have got the firepower to take each challenge head on.
“They will have to play the All Blacks at some point, but I think they showed for 40 minutes at Twickenham [last year] that they are more than a match for them, but they also are aware that if they want to get to a final they’ve got to do it for 80 minutes.
“I still feel this tournament has a wonderful air of unpredictability about it. Nothing has happened in the pool stages to suggest that anyone can say for certain who is going to win.”
While the 15-man version of the game reaches its pinnacle later this month, Dallaglio will also have one eye on a new five-a-side format, Rugby X, hitting London’s O2 on 29 October.
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Featuring a host of Sevens internationals, the all-action 10-minute games are aimed at making rugby more accessible to new audiences.
“I’d almost call it rock ‘n’ roll rugby,” says Dallaglio, whose charity Rugby Works is a partner of the event.
”I can see it being rugby’s T20 moment and taking off around the country and around the world. Next year the plan is to roll this out in five cities across the UK and for it be played over three weeks.
“I’ve been to Hong Kong and Dubai and I’ve seen what seven-a-side rugby can do. There’s no doubt that five-a-side rugby could do something even bigger.”