RWC: All Black Sam Whitelock puts Typhoon Hagibis situation in perspective

Sam Whitelock knows there will be disappointed fans following the cancellation of World Cup games due to Typhoon Hagibis. But the star All Black has added some sharp perspective to the unfolding drama.

Sam Whitelock understands that fans will be disappointed - but says safety must come first. Picture: Getty

• Why Ricky Stuart has join Eddie Jones’ England camp
• Semi Radradra joins list of greatest league to rugby converts

All Blacks lock Sam Whitelock has put in sharp perspective the safety of rugby fans and World Cup teams bracing for Typhoon Hagibis because of the devastating earthquake that hit his home city.

The veteran forward said he understood there were disappointed people at the cancellation of two games and the threat to the crunch Scotland-Japan game on Sunday night in Yokohama.

“As players, we’d love to get out there and play (because) people have travelled from all over the world and they’re going to miss out,” Whitelock said of today’s game against Italy being scrapped.

Stream the Rugby World Cup 2019 on KAYO SPORTS. Every match Live & On-Demand on your TV, computer, mobile or tablet. Get your 14 day free trial >

Sam Whitelock has offered his thoughts on the impending threat of Typhoon Hagibis. Picture: Getty

“But it’s not about rugby, it’s about people’s safety.

“I’ve had a couple of Super Rugby games cancelled, because of an earthquake in one case and then the shooting (in Christchurch), and in both instances you understand why.

“Rugby’s just a small thing. We tend to get carried away with it a little bit because we’re so passionate but there would be nothing worse than if we did play and people were getting hurt.”

The deadly 2011 Christchurch earthquake forced seven games to be relocated to other cities later that year at New Zealand’s World Cup, and AMI Stadium has since been demolished.

The Christchurch shootings led to matches of multiple sports being rescheduled and abandoned. Picture: AFP

The Christchurch mosque terrorist shootings which left 51 dead in March this year forced the cancellation of a Super Rugby game the following day, when Whitelock’s Crusaders were to face the Highlanders in Dunedin.

Fullback Ben Smith said he could understand Italy’s frustration at not playing the game, a point highlighted by Italian captain Sergio Parisse.

“If New Zealand needed four or five points against us it would not have been cancelled,” Parisse said.

“It is ridiculous that a decision of this nature has been made and that there was no Plan B, because it isn’t like the fans arrived yesterday or news that typhoons hit Japan.”

Sergio Parisse was fuming over the decision to cancel the game. Picture: Getty

This is the biggest of the 19 typhoons of this storm season, with warnings for winds of 150km per hour, torrential rain and possible landslides when Hagibis strikes the Japanese coast today.

Trains have been cancelled for today and teams like the All Blacks will just “hunker down” in their Tokyo hotel, according to Smith.

Evacuation orders are likely for more vulnerable coastal areas because of storm surges on the oceanfront, and alerts to have basic food provisions have been put out by authorities.

The Wallabies are still juggling contingency plans with their bullet train back to Tokyo from Shizuoka today now cancelled.

The possibility is they get a World Cup team bus back to Tokyo after last night’s match against Georgia, or even stay an extra night in the area.