11 Oct 2019

Impact of match cancellations explored

From Morning Report, 8:10 am on 11 October 2019

Italy's captain Sergio Parisse has lashed out at the decision to cancel their game against the All Blacks, calling it ridiculous. He told reporters "If New Zealand needed four or five points against us it would not have been cancelled," He went on to say that it was "ridiculous that there was no Plan B, because it isn't news that typhoons hit Japan. The alternative is Plan B. When you organise a World Cup you should have one in place." The danger of typhoons, earthquakes and floods was known well before Japan was awarded the hosting rights to the World Cup. Ahead of the tournament, the organisers spoke of moving matches if disaster struck, saying that while Kumamoto, Fukuoka and Oita could be affected by typhoons there were nine other venues that would likely be unaffected. Sports correspondent Hamish Bidwell has been following developments.