<p class="title">Rugby World Cup organisers warned Monday that a powerful typhoon forming to the south of Japan could bring fierce winds and torrential rain over the last weekend of the pool stages.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Japan's Meteorological Agency (JMA) is tracking Typhoon Hagibis, expected to develop into the highest level of "violent", which is due to start hitting the southern island of Kyushu around October 12.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We have not issued any warning yet as it is still far from the Japanese archipelago. But it could be the strongest to hit Japan this year," a JMA official told AFP.</p>.<p class="bodytext">There are two World Cup fixtures on the island at that time -- a potentially critical Pool A Ireland-Samoa clash in Fukuoka on October 12 and Wales-Uruguay in Pool D in Kumamoto on October 13.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The latest information from the Rugby World Cup weather advisors is that "the typhoon is tracking in a north-westerly direction and could bring high winds and heavy rain to southern Japan on October 12 and 13", organisers said in a statement.</p>.<p class="bodytext">They said it was "too early" to assess the exact trajectory of the storm and whether it would impact the game, but stressed they had a "robust contingency programme" in place if the games were affected.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Games can be moved to a different venue if it looks like a typhoon will prevent them from being played.</p>.<p class="bodytext">However, if a match during the pool phase has to be cancelled, it counts as a 0-0 draw.</p>.<p class="bodytext">This could prove costly to Ireland, who are in a fierce three-way battle with Japan and Scotland for a quarter-final place and would be expected to beat Samoa with relative ease.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Wales will qualify for the last eight if they beat Fiji on Wednesday but a draw against Uruguay could jeopardise their ability to top their pool.</p>
<p class="title">Rugby World Cup organisers warned Monday that a powerful typhoon forming to the south of Japan could bring fierce winds and torrential rain over the last weekend of the pool stages.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Japan's Meteorological Agency (JMA) is tracking Typhoon Hagibis, expected to develop into the highest level of "violent", which is due to start hitting the southern island of Kyushu around October 12.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We have not issued any warning yet as it is still far from the Japanese archipelago. But it could be the strongest to hit Japan this year," a JMA official told AFP.</p>.<p class="bodytext">There are two World Cup fixtures on the island at that time -- a potentially critical Pool A Ireland-Samoa clash in Fukuoka on October 12 and Wales-Uruguay in Pool D in Kumamoto on October 13.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The latest information from the Rugby World Cup weather advisors is that "the typhoon is tracking in a north-westerly direction and could bring high winds and heavy rain to southern Japan on October 12 and 13", organisers said in a statement.</p>.<p class="bodytext">They said it was "too early" to assess the exact trajectory of the storm and whether it would impact the game, but stressed they had a "robust contingency programme" in place if the games were affected.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Games can be moved to a different venue if it looks like a typhoon will prevent them from being played.</p>.<p class="bodytext">However, if a match during the pool phase has to be cancelled, it counts as a 0-0 draw.</p>.<p class="bodytext">This could prove costly to Ireland, who are in a fierce three-way battle with Japan and Scotland for a quarter-final place and would be expected to beat Samoa with relative ease.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Wales will qualify for the last eight if they beat Fiji on Wednesday but a draw against Uruguay could jeopardise their ability to top their pool.</p>