Safety first but World Rugby's lack of a contingency plan must be questioned - Andy Goode
People’s safety absolutely has to be paramount but it’s only natural to question World Rugby’s contingency plans when simply awarding two points each is the end result.
It’s one thing when it’s England vs France and both teams have already qualified but Italy have had their opportunity of qualifying for the knockout stages for the first time in their history taken away from them.
Of course, they were extremely unlikely to beat the All Blacks and make it to a quarter-final but that’s not the point. It’s a sport and you can’t just write off their chances. There could have been a red card in the opening few minutes and they might have played the game of their lives.
Sergio Parisse’s reaction was punchy and I don’t agree that it would be different if it was New Zealand needing to win, but you can understand his frustration and you have to feel for the Italians on a personal level as well.
It would probably have been Parisse’s final game for the Azzurri, certainly his last at a World Cup, and Alessandro Zanni and Leonardo Ghiraldini are in a similar boat.
(Continue reading below…)
Ghiraldini was due to make a 20-minute cameo appearance against the All Blacks to cap off a 15-year international career after months of battling back from an awful injury, so it’s no wonder tears were shed when that was taken away from him.
It wasn’t possible for anyone to predict the sheer scale of Typhoon Hagibis but organisers did know these storms were probable at this time of year, so it’s just a question of whether the contingency plans are appropriate.
Clearly, World Rugby haven’t taken any of these decisions lightly and they have far more information at their disposal than the rest of us looking on from afar. They are also correct that all teams were aware of the rules prior to the tournament but just cancelling games isn’t a great look for the tournament.
'Never once in its 32-year history has a fixture been cancelled and it has opened a Pandora’s Box of issues that may yet come back to bite the organisers.'
– RugbyPass columnist @OwainJTJones on the unprecedented turn of events in Japan #rwc2019 https://t.co/CVDyhNRbIF
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 10, 2019
It may well be that the amount of devastation and disruption that Typhoon Hagibis leaves in its wake means none of these games could realistically be played even a couple of days later anyway but you can’t help feeling that should be a possibility.
It’s a very difficult situation for everyone concerned but postponing the games in the first instance, especially New Zealand vs Italy and Japan vs Scotland where qualification is up for grabs, rather than cancelling them (a final decision is, of course, still awaited on the Japan-Scotland game) would have been preferable.
It’s also particularly difficult to understand why there are different contingency plans in place for the knockout stages compared to pool games. That just doesn’t seem right when some of these are effectively knockout matches.
The latest in the war of words between the Scottish Rugby Union and World Rugby regarding the typhoon-threatened Scotland-Japan World Cup match https://t.co/OfEjivvRan
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 11, 2019
Italians might not be too happy that extra time is being given before making a decision on Scotland vs Japan compared to their game against New Zealand, but everyone is hoping it can go ahead. It looks like there may even be legal implications from a Scotland perspective if it doesn’t.
You can see their point that there should be a bit of flexibility in the schedule in extreme examples such as these, even though there are huge logistical difficulties associated with moving either the date or location of a game.
Scotland may yet not be affected but it’s already too late for Italy. They have had their chance of qualification, however slim it might have been, taken away from them and that leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.
WATCH: Scotland’s Gregor Townsend on his belief that Sunday’s World Cup match with Japan will still be played
Comments on RugbyPass
late hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
4 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
24 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
24 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
24 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
24 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
28 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
24 Go to comments