Full assessment confirms venue ready to host big Pool A match

• World Rugby praises Yokohama City and match venue
• Fans advised to plan travel and arrive early
• Travel services progressively returning to normal
• There will be reduced levels of food and beverage services

World Rugby and the Japan Rugby 2019 Organising Committee have announced that Sunday’s Rugby World Cup 2019 Pool A match between Japan and Scotland at Yokohama International Stadium (19:45 JST) will go ahead as scheduled.  

The decision was taken following a comprehensive assessment of the venue and associated infrastructure on Sunday morning in partnership with the Host City. World Rugby and the Japan Rugby 2019 Organising Committee would like to thank everyone involved for their significant efforts to enable the match to be played as scheduled following one of largest and most powerful typhoons to hit Japan in recent years.

Fans attending  Sunday night’s match are advised to check travel operator information before departing and plan to arrive early as it may take longer than usual to enter the stadium. Fans should also expect a significantly reduced level of spectator service in terms of catering and merchandise sales owing to limitations on venue staff availability as a result of the typhoon.

To ensure the best-possible fan experience, the decision has been made to allow fans to bring non-alcoholic beverage into the venue for personal consumption. All drinks will be decanted into cups at the point of entry. This change in policy will only be operational for this match. As per the earlier announcement, fans are permitted to bring food into venues for personal consumption.

Transport operations in and around Yokohama will progressively return to normal service levels throughout the day and we will provide ongoing updates via the @Japan2019_ENG fan information Twitter account throughout the day. 

As Yokohama International Stadium is located within the engineered flood defences of Yokohama City, there will be significant amounts of water in the surrounding floodplains and river. This is normal and should not alarm fans.

MOMENT'S SILENCE FOR VICTIMS OF TYPHOON HAGIBIS

The silence will be observed prior to the anthems at Hanazono, Kumamoto and Yokohama.

The typhoon was one of the largest and most powerful to hit Japan in recent years, causing significant damage, disruption and, sadly, loss of life.

Rugby World Cup matches were cancelled with Kamaishi impacted by flooding and landslides. Many areas of Japan are still under severe warning.

The reaction of the rugby family has been incredible with messages of support, solidarity and sympathy across social media.