France-England canceled, the Blues finish second in Pool C

From our special envoy to Japan,

This time it's official, there will be no crunch. World Rugby announced Thursday the cancellation of the match of
XV of France against England which was to be held in Yokohama on Saturday (17:15 local) because of the passage of Typhoon Hagibis. "It would be extremely irresponsible to endanger the teams, supporters, volunteers and other staff of the competition during what is reported as a high intensity typhoon," the organization said in a statement. "As a result, we made the decision to cancel some matches to ensure the safety of everyone involved. It's the best thing to do, and we have the support of all parties involved, including the teams. It should be noted that fan tickets will be refunded.

"We are fully aware that the supporters of England, France, New Zealand and Italy will be disappointed, but we hope they will understand that their safety is the priority and their tickets will be fully reimbursed.

– Rugby World Cup (@RugbyWorldCupFR) October 10, 2019

As set out in the rules, France and England leave with two points of the draw, thus freezing the final standings of pool C, whose English are victorious in front of the Blues, already qualified for the quarterfinals after their short success against Tonga. Jacques Brunel's group will be heading for the day in Oita, where the French quarter-final will be played on October 20th.

We will know Sunday for Japan-Scotland

Another canceled match, Italy-New Zealand, which was to be played at Toyota. Without much consequence, even if the Italians could mathematically hope the qualification at the price of a historical exploit against hegemonic All Blacks. The world champions finish first in their group with only one step ahead of South Africa.

For Japan-Scotland, on the other hand, everything remains open. Threatened by the typhoon, the decisive match of pool A must also be played at Yokohama Sunday but the remoteness of the disturbance Sunday still leaves a chance for the game to be played. "Everything is being done to ensure that Sunday matches will be maintained as planned," says World Rugby. However, before any final decision is taken, the sites will have to be carefully controlled after the typhoon hit Sunday morning. We will then know whether or not Scotland can defend her chances or be sacrificed on the altar of Hagibis.