Rugby World Cup 2019: All Blacks calm as weather warning threatens rivals

All Blacks assistant coach Ian Foster is remaining calm in the face of the most serious weather warning issued for the Rugby World Cup in Japan.

Typhoon Hagibis is developing off the south coast of Japan, with the threat of heavy rain and high winds this weekend.

While the storm is unlikely to affect the All Blacks' next match against Italy in Toyota City on Saturday, it may bring consequences for potential quarter-final opponents Ireland, who face Samoa in Fukuoka that same night.

Tournament organisers have the option of moving the fixture, but if they don't, weather cancellation could hamper the Irish attempts to progress from Pool A, where they face a three-way finish with Scotland and Japan for two playoff spots.

Foster addressed the risk with media on Tuesday.

"We get regular reports, like everyone does," he said. "This report seems to be a little bit more serious than the others, so we'll track it and watch it.

"It doesn't change any plans for us now - all we hope and everyone hopes is that it doesn't disrupt anything or cause any issues with the tournament.

"We just have to cross our fingers and buckle down. Hopefully, common sense prevails and if it does disrupt things, then good decisions are made."

If the game is abandoned, the two teams would share the points, opening the door for Scotland to sneak ahead of their Six Nations rivals on the table.

Join us at 11:45pm Saturday for live updates of the Ireland v Samoa Rugby World Cup clash.

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