The Irish camp have expressed sympathy with those who have had World Cup games affected by Typhoon Hagibis, but say their focus lies entirely on beating Samoa on Saturday. Greg Feek and Keith Earls were speaking in Fukuoka this morning at the Ireland Captain’s run.
They say they’ve been monitoring the situation but realise there is no immediate impact on Ireland’s chances in this tournament.
“We’ve kept an eye on what’s been going on,” said Feek
“We’re obviously sympathetic towards those who have had games cancelled, whether it’s players, management, fans, people watching on TV in different countries and even the organisers. But, from our point of view, as soon as we knew we had a game on, no matter what happens on Sunday, we need to win our game.”
Asked about the fact that New Zealand, England and France will now have extra days’ rest for their World Cup quarter-finals, Keith Earls said:
“They have a bit of an advantage with rest, but then again we’d have an advantage of playing an extra game, so it probably evens itself out.
“I feel sorry for the players like Parisse and Ghiraldini who are playing their last World Cup game and they don’t get to do it against New Zealand, but I’m personally just concentrating on my game and concentrating on our game.
“We’re preparing for a massive challenge tomorrow and I’m sure the Samoans are going to bring their own storm with the physicality.”
Meanwhile, the Irish embassy has advised supporters in Japan to follow any instructions from local authorities and check local media for regular updates. Further information in English can be found on the Japan Meteorological Agency website and NHK News.
The embassy also advises that significant disruption to transport links across the country is expected and contacting transport providers in advance of travel for added information is strongly advised. The RWC 2019 Fan Information Twitter handle (@Japan2019_ENG) will have further travel, ticket, weather and venue updates.
Typhoon Hagibis is not expected to impact on Ireland’s clash with Samoa on Saturday in Fukuoka, where kick-off is at 11.45 am Irish time.
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