Italy captain Sergio Parisse has made little effort to hide his displeasure after finding out his team's final Rugby World Cup pool match against the All Blacks had been cancelled.
World Rugby announced yesterday both the France v England and New Zealand v Italy fixtures had been cancelled due to safety concerns around Typhoon Hagibis.
Italy had the slimmest of chances to get out of Pool B with a bonus point upset win over the All Blacks but the decision instead sees their campaign come to an end with a scoreless draw.
Parisse said if it was the All Blacks chasing a bonus point win to get out of the group, things would've been handled differently.
"It is difficult to know that we won't have the chance to play a match against one of the great teams," Parisse said.
"If New Zealand needed four or five points against us it would not have been cancelled.
"We had the chance to play in a big stadium, against a great team. It is ridiculous that a decision of this nature has been made because it isn't like the fans arrived yesterday.
"It is ridiculous that there was no Plan B, because it isn't news that typhoons hit Japan. The alternative is Plan B. When you organise a World Cup you should have one in place."
What could also have been fuelling Parisse's passionate rant was the fact both he and Leonardo Ghiraldini were denied their swansongs with the 36-year-old previously stating he'd be retiring after the tournament.
"Sure, everyone might think that Italy versus New Zealand being cancelled counts for nothing because we'd have lost anyway, but we deserved to be respected as a team," Parisse added.
"If Italy and New Zealand decide they don't want to play, then fine. But as I said before, if New Zealand needed the points it wouldn't have been cancelled."
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