England will not take a risk with Billy Vunipola against France after the No 8 sustained a twisted ankle last weekend, but they remain hopeful he will play a further part in their World Cup campaign.
Vunipola has undergone a scan on his left ankle and was seen in a protective boot at the team hotel, despite claims from the England coaching staff on Monday that he did not require one.
England are still not publicly ruling him out of appearing in his 13th consecutive Test of the year, against France in Yokohama on Saturday, but with qualification for the quarter‑finals already assured it is almost certain he will be omitted. Mark Wilson, who was absent from the matchday 23, is standing by.
Vunipola was not able to take part in the training session on Tuesday morning and, while England are keeping details to a minimum, they have opted against sending the 26-year-old player home and summoning a replacement, suggesting a decision will be made on his availability for the knockout stages next week.
“We are being overly cautious and if there is any risk that Billy is not going to be 100% we will rest him,” England’s attack coach, Scott Wisemantel, said.
Doubts have emerged, however, over whether the match on Saturday will go ahead with Super Typhoon Hagibis changing course and heading for Tokyo and Yokohama over the weekend. The typhoon had initially been expected to cause disruption to Ireland’s key Pool A match with Russia in Fukuoka but now appears headed for the capital. Yokohama, where Japan face Scotland on Sunday, is also under threat for what the Japanese meteorological agency has described as the most explosive typhoon of the year.
England and France have already qualified for the quarter-finals, meaning there would be less of an impact on permutations if the game is cancelled and the result deemed to be a scoreless draw. Japan’s match against Scotland, however, is key in determining which two teams reach the last eight. World Cup organisers do have contingency plans – including potentially relocating matches to different venues – but if they end up being cancelled, both sides are awarded two points.
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Team guides
Pool A: Ireland, Japan, Russia, Samoa, Scotland
Pool B: Canada, Italy, Namibia, New Zealand, South Africa
Pool C: Argentina, England, France, Tonga, USA
Pool D: Australia, Fiji, Georgia, Uruguay, Wales
“Regarding the typhoon we have no control over the weather and we have to prepare for the game and see how it goes,” Wisemantel said. “Regarding the permutation around the game and shared points we are just concentrating on playing to win. I live in a bubble and I don’t know where the game would be played. One thing I have learnt in Japan is that they prepare for the worst and then usually it doesn’t eventuate.”
