Those following the Rugby World Cup are all sadly aware of the devastation in Japan due to the super Typhoon Hagibis that made landfall in the hosting country amidst the pool games of the World Cup. The typhoon was rated at the same strength as a category five hurricane, and at least 31 people lost their lives, and 186 have been injured. It also left the country with severe devastation as heavy rainfall and strong winds brought on widespread flooding and landslides.
A couple of pool games in the tournament had to be called due to the seriousness of the storm as it approached the country. One of these games was the one between the national teams of Canada and Namibia. They were set to play in Kamaishi, but due to landslides in the area, their game on Sunday was called off. With their game cancelled, the Canadian heroes decided to lend a hand to the nation who has been hosting them thus far and now suffered terrible losses. Over 230 000 locals had to evacuate their homes ahead of the storm, and many emergency orders were put into place surrounding the Tokyo area.
Helping Out
The Japanese Prime Minister’s office reported that around 27 000 personnel members of the country’s Self-Defence Forces joined in the aid operations to assist the clean-up process. The country suffered severe flooding, landslides and much structural damage. Hence the Canadian team joined in and helped with the activities surrounding the Kamaishi area. After a video went viral where the team was busy cleaning up, they earned the praise of not only the world and the Rugby World Cup organizers, but also the Prime Minister’s office expressed their thanks to the team. The team stated that they were disappointed that their game was cancelled, but they decided to show their actual values in life and jumped in to help. Kingsley Jones, head coach to the national team, also stated that even though they are heading back now, they feel that some great building blocks were put into place for 2023 for the team.
He said that he is looking forward to the next four years of success for the team, and then he also expressed best wishes for the people of Japan from his and the team’s side. Also, Peter Nelson, utility to the Canadians, stated that even though they were disappointed about not being able to meet Namibia on the field, there are a lot more things in life which is more important than rugby. Hence that is why they decided to assist with cleaning up. Many of the locals’ homes were destroyed, and that was the least they could do. The team also stated that the Japanese nation is such a friendly group of people and that they made the tournament tremendous and giving back to the Japanese is what they decided to do.