Typhoon Hagibis could see Ireland dumped out of Rugby World Cup

Ireland will be sweating on the weather at this year's Rugby World Cup, hoping that Typhoon Hagibis stays away for the immediate future.

With one match left to play in their pool campaign, Joe Schmidt's Ireland side sit second to hosts Japan on 11 points, six clear of third placed Scotland.

As the impending typhoon approaches Japan's south coast, Ireland's final pool match against Manu Samoa in Fukuoka could be in danger of a washout, which would leave both sides sharing the points, and considered a scoreless draw.

However, with Scotland currently with a game in hand over Ireland, it is conceivable that two bonus-point victories over both Japan and Russia could see Ireland slip to third and miss out on the quarter-finals altogether.

A washout in Fukuoka would see Ireland finish with 13 points from the group stage, while two hypothetical bonus point wins would mean Scotland finish with 15 and Japan with 14.

Staring at a string of events that could see Ireland on the plane home early though, defence coach Andy Farrell says that his side aren't worrying about what Typhoon Hagibis could mean.

"The boys haven't even spoken about it - we just go from day to day, get on with our preparations," Farrell told media.

"World Rugby has been in touch with us and they are as keen as we are to get this game played. I believe there's a contingency plan in place.

"We just get on with our day job and best prepare every single day and we'll see what comes with that. The weather forecast changes all the time anyway. So we won't probably know until 48 hours out from the game."

World Rugby themselves say that they're continuing to monitor the situation, but have made no concrete indication as to any action to be taken.

"While it is too early to determine the exact trajectory and impact, if any, of the typhoon at this early stage, as per previous typhoon warnings, we have a robust contingency programme in place in the event adverse weather looks likely to impact fixtures," World Rugby said in a statement.

"We will continue to closely monitor this developing situation in partnership with our weather information experts, local authorities, transport providers and the teams, and will provide a further update tomorrow."

Japan are currently top of Pool A with three wins from their three matches played, with all sides concerned determined to avoid finishing in second place, setting up a quarter-final against the All Blacks.