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By Tom English
BBC Scotland
On Monday morning we woke to the news of a typhoon heading round the Western Pacific Ocean bound for Japan. The national meteorological agency called in and it Typhoon Hagibis our innocence it was filmed Hurricane Haggis, and since it was thought it could damage the chances of making the World Cup quarter-finals of Ireland and improve the odds of Scotland.
Scots laughed afterward. Nobody had been laughing on Saturday because something began to growl its strategy in Yokohama, the venue (ideally ) for Scotlands massive battle with Japan to choose who goes through and who moves out.
Before Hagibis made landfall in Shizouka Prefecture at 7pm local time 1 person was murdered in Chiba, three were still missing after a landslide in Gunma, 211,600 houses were without electricity and evacuation orders were issued to millions of households.
Planes were grounded, trains stopped roofs were ripped off buildings, record rain was recorded amid flooding. During its center, winds have been measured at 162kmph and gusting in 234kmph. All day news presenters stood in front of images depicting what they thought was the full scale of the terror. You did not need to be aware of the language to get the gravity of their message.
Around 6.20pm a earthquake having a magnitude of 5.7 hit offshore in Katsuura at Chiba. Over 60 miles off the tremor was felt in Yokohama in which the Scotland staff are remaining. Scotland hooker, fraser Brown, tweeted a video of his resort corridor creaking and moving from side to side.
About the 20th floor of this Vista resort, as guests ate supper, the construction swayed. Japan has an astounding history of natural disasters that its individuals are habituated in such moments. Food was brought by the team as if nothing had happened. To them, it was normal and there wasnt anything to be concerned about. To the tourists, it was eerie.
Sunday will bring the sunshine back to Yokohama – but will we have a match? The word is that World Cup organisers are going to have site inspection around 6am (22:00 BST) and will announce a choice between 8am and 10am. Thats not a hard and fast deadline. Technically, they could wait until six hours before kick-off – 1.45pm neighborhood (05:45 BST) – to create their telephone.
That was what Scottish Rugby thought they went to do. It is recognized that they realised a decision might come hours when they see it on Friday evening. They are livid at what they say is a lack of communication and information from World Rugby.
Relations between both bodies could be worse. There is likely to be ear-splitting outcry from the SRU, if the game doesnt take place. That row will run and run. On the face of it the SRU may be limited in their choices but one thing is for certain – in case of a doomsday scenario theyre not minded to go.
Without needing to become a hostage to fortune there were signs late on Saturday in Yokohama that Hagibis, mercifully, was not likely to wreak the terrible havoc predicted and that loss of life and damage to infrastructure would not be anywhere near the realms of the horrors of Kanto and Izu typhoon of 1958, a tragedy that killed 1,200 individuals and one which Hagibis had been said to equal.
What does it mean for Scotlands denouements almighty saga with Japan on Sunday? Its still too early to say. Nobody was if the majority rain fell and if Hagibis was its most violent, therefore nobody knows what damage is present . Flooding is a major worry.
The organisers may call off it on safety reasons, they may let it go behind closed doors or, in the event the harm is not significant, the full show might proceed in front of a capacity crowd. Nobody knows. Before the team of inspectors perform their work, everybody is imagining.
Scotland and Japan continue to prepare as if the game is a certainty, as they must. Despite the war of words between Scottish Rugby and World Rugby using Jamie Joseph throwing in his barbs too and the hubbub of Hagibis, this was a Test that captivated the sport. Now its an unmissable affair for anyone who has ever picked up a rugby ball.
The television audience in Japan is going to be huge, in or around 60m if we get a game. The hosts will be the team with the support of much of the rugby world, past Ireland and Scotland that have a vested interest in them losing. The tournament has . Their brilliantly was the highlight up to now.
Remember that Scotland need to take four points from the match compared to Japan – and Scotland are not in the business of winning and entering the backyard of stellar teams, not mind winning with such a margin. Discounting the victory over Italy at the neutral venue of Singapore, in Townsends time they have just managed three away wins from Tier One onwards – thats what Japan realistically are currently – and only one of these, Argentina at 2018, was from the margin of success that will cut it on Sunday.
Obviously they can win by less than seven points provided that they got a bonus stage. That is hard to see, nonetheless.
Joseph complained the other day that his boys have been disrespected in areas. Its hard to know if he intended it or when he explained it in the expectation that his players thought that it adding more fuel. It is not true. For this Japan side theres been nothing but admiration from Scotland.
Theyre a negative that can play at pace while preserving precision, a team of ambition and work-rate and ability. Theirs is a brand of rugby. Fitness levels are sky high. They havent lacked for mental resilience. Japan established against Ireland that speed could be equally as effective as electricity in the modern game. Irelands grunt was no game for their own energy.
Directed from the Michael Leitch, theyre an fine side, hewn in Super Rugby in their Sunwolves adventures. That it would go down in two years, if Scotland were to triumph with that magic margin of eight things.
Scotland routed Samoa and also Russia. Opposition, for certain, however the staff of Gregor Townsend had. Have they discovered something in childhood? Sunday will tell. Darcy Graham is an irrepressible character. Fearless. Magnus Bradbury is constructing on his guarantee. Jamie Ritchie is showing what a player. Blade Thomson is alive up to the hype, but that is their ultimate Test. That is the place where they float or float.
Yes, we couch everything that it was just Russia and Samoa, but the attitude was a million times better than it had been against Ireland. Together with Scotland you sometimes feel that acquiring the ideal mindset is half of the battle. Theyve had it and a classic might ensue should they have it in Yokohama.
They think they are prepared whilst acknowledging that they have been down this road many times and also have flopped. This is an away match and we all know like when playing another teams stadium using the stress on what Scotland are usually. Nostradamus would have given up predicting what this group was likely to send from one week to another, although at their best they could do this.
Then theyll travel to play with with a team, if they get to travel to the scene, but a staff burdened by expectation. The only desire is that the sport is performed by needing to call off it and the governing body of the game do undermine their credibility. The rugby world would like to find this one. The anticipation, and the bets, are as large as the maximum skyscraper at Yokohama.
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