Australia delayed in departure for Japan due to Typhoon Faxai

The Australian team's departure for the Rugby World Cup has been delayed after meteorologists warned a typhoon featuring 130-mile-per-hour winds is due to hit the Japanese mainland.

The Wallabies were due to depart from Sydney for Tokyo after their victory over Samoa on Saturday before heading to Odawara for a week’s camp ahead of their opening game against Fiji on September 21st in Sapporo. But the imminent arrival of Typhoon Faxai has forced Michael Cheika’s side to delay those plans, with the Japanese Metereological Society warning the storm could affect several more sides due to travel on Sunday, including England.

Australia will now travel on Monday, although the Japanese Metereological Society has warned the typhoon could dump as much as 300 millimetres of rain in the next 24 hours, with trains and flights in the Tokyo region having already been cancelled in anticipation. “Winds and rains could pick up suddenly, causing severe storms at sea, and there is a risk of record-breaking winds in the capital and other regions,” it said on its website.

Tournament organisers have been bracing themselves for weather disruption, as Japan averages around 30 typhoons and 1,500 earthquakes a year, but Faxai’s potential arrival so close to the start of the tournament underlines the threat posed. Organisers have planned for the possibility of having to relocate teams from their bases or even to move matches to different venues but, if a pool match is cancelled, tournament rules state that both teams will be awarded two points – in effect rendering the result a 0-0 draw. – Guardian