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Jones suggests Scotland have only themselves to blame if Super Typhoon Hagibis knocks them out of RWC
By Online Editors
Eddie Jones insists the blame is Scotland's alone if they are knocked out of the World Cup by Super Typhoon Hagibis.
The Scots will miss out on the quarter-finals if their match against hosts Japan in Yokohama on Sunday suffers the same fate as England's clash with France and New Zealand's game against Italy and is cancelled due to the approaching cyclone.
But Jones has limited sympathy for Gregor Townsend's men given that all teams knew the potential for extreme weather events to intervene, highlighting the need to take them out of the equation.
England secured qualification with a game to spare, unlike Scotland who opened their campaign with a depressing defeat to Ireland. Jones said: “We have been talking about it all the time, about the possibility that this was going to happen.
“You know what’s going to happen. It’s typhoon season here and you’ve got to be prepared for it. We had an idea it could happen and therefore you have to accumulate points in your games to put yourself in the right position in case that happened.
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“We just knew that there was the possibility of a game like this during the tournament so we just wanted to put ourselves in the best position we could.
"This is supposed to be a big typhoon, so I don’t see any other option that the organisers had. That’s why we’re not concerned at all about the comings and goings of it, we think it’s the right decision.”
New Zealand boss Steve Hansen echoed Jones' view. “We have to back World Rugby's decision and if other teams miss out, it's unfortunate, it'll be disappointing,” Hansen said.
“If you want to be really ruthless, then it's all about making sure you win the games on the way through because everyone knew this could be a possibility.”
- Press Association
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Latest Comments
Well it's a bit disappointing injury hasn't been as much of a selector as I'd hoped for the AB's this weekend.
At least week got ALB in there and they made the call to let Ratima concentrate on building for another go next year already. Upgrades in both positions for me though I'd like it the otherway round, to not be.
Happy for Patrick to earn his start this week, along with EDG.
Mo'unga, please come back home ASAP, we need saving as I'm not sure Razor knows that his captain, Ardie, and Reiko have literally played every test this year, and we can all see he's given you the big desperate PLEASE with these selections.
Go to commentsWhat you say is true, but it's a new coach with a different structure and cohesiveness takes time. To be honest, despite the losses, the AB's looked more dangerous this year and more exciting.
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