Tokyo (AFP)

The uncertainty weighing on the decisive Japan-Scotland Sunday and the cancellation of England-France and especially New Zealand - Italy because of typhoon unleash passions at the Rugby World Cup.

For once, the coach of Japan, the former All Black Jamie Joseph departed from his hometown. In front of the press, on Friday, he read his notes.

"I feel they have undermined the results of Japan's national team and the significance for Japan of Sunday's game against Scotland," he said.

"They"? Who was he targeting? On the face of it, Jamie Joseph has targeted Scottish federation and coach Gregor Townsend, who have explicitly put pressure on World Rugby to make the Japan-Scotland match, decisive in the quarterfinal race, on Sunday ( or Monday) in Yokohama, on the outskirts of Tokyo, the day after Hagibis planned passage on the Japanese megalopolis.

The XV du Chardon does not want to hear about a possible cancellation of the match, synonymous with draw (0-0) and therefore elimination.

"My point is that we will not let Scotland be the collateral victim of a hasty decision," Federation Director-General Mark Dodson said on Friday, adding: "I think there are alternatives (in terms of stadium) in Japan".

"We must have confidence in the organizers that the match will be played, even if it is in camera or in a different stadium," head coach Gregor Townsend said Thursday.

"Everyone in the group wants to play this game," said "Japanese" Jamie Joseph, it's important for us that Monday morning, when we wake up, we can say we deserved to be among the eight best teams ".

- Eddie Jones's lesson -

In addition to their Japanese opponents, the Scots have attracted the wrath of Eddie Jones, the coach of the XV of England, which has nothing to do directly with history.

"We've been talking all the time about what could happen ... It's typhoon season and you have to be ready for it," said Jones from Miyasaki in southern Japan, where he took his team after the cancellation of the match against France.

"We knew it could happen and so you have to accumulate points during the matches to put yourself in the right position in case that happens," said the England coach, victorious in his first three games with the bonus, first of Pool C, despite the cancellation of the match against France.

World Rugby will wait for the passage of Hagibis before making a decision on the holding of the match Japan-Scotland, Sunday morning, just a few hours before the kickoff scheduled at 19:45 local (12:45 French).

Waiting for improvement or anticipating the decision in the name of security for all? The organizers are subject to this dilemma. And the cancellation, forty-eight hours before kick-off, of New Zealand - Italy also carries a lot of controversy.

- "We do not take decisions" -

So Friday morning, the placid second-line all-black Sam Whitelock denied any special treatment, while the cancellation of the match resulted in the qualification of the New Zealanders and endorsed the elimination of Italy who should have beaten the doubles reigning world champions with a bonus point to hope to reach the quarter-finals.

"It is not us who make the decisions, it comes from above (Editor's note: the organizers.) It's up to these people to ask," Whitelock said.

He responded to the Italian captain Sergio Parisse who said the day before: "If New Zealand had (needed) four or five points against us, (the match) would not have been canceled".

In the wake, Italy coach Conor O'Shea told him that the World Cup ended "horribly" for his team.

Sam Whitelock, 30, 115 All Blacks caps, is also wearing the Crusaders, the Christchurch-based Super Rugby team.

"I had a few cancellations of Super Rugby matches during the earthquake (2011) and the shooting (March 2019), and for these matches we understand why, rugby is very little," he said. He underlines.

© 2019 AFP