The Scottish Rugby Union are reportedly prepared to take legal action to ensure their final Rugby World Cup Pool match against Japan is played.
The Telegraph report Scotland have notified World Rugby of their intentions, should the decision be taken to cancel Sunday's crucial game because of Typhoon Hagibis.
The Scots' legal team are said to believe under tournament rules there is flexibility to change the schedule in cases of 'force majeure', with the ferocious typhoon clearly qualifying as such an unforeseeable event.
You can read the latest on the developing typhoon and its impact on the World Cup here.
The reports claim a series of bad tempered meetings were held between Scottish rugby chiefs and tournament organisers late into Thursday evening.
Scottish Rugby's chief executive Mark Dodson is said to be "in a state of apoplexy" about the situation and vowing to do whatever it takes to get the game played.
The match is currently scheduled to take place at 7.45pm local time on Sunday, with bosses hoping the worst of the typhoon will pass through on Saturday. However, it is impossible to know at this stage whether the stadium or surrounding area will be able to host a match, with experts predicting Hagibis will leave significant damage in its wake.
Scotland would like to move the game back 24 hours to allow more time for things to settle.
However, tournament director Andy Gilpin has categorically stated this game will not be treated differently to the two already called off, with rescheduling not an option should the worse happen.
Italy could have remained in the competition with an unlikely victory over the All Blacks but they were denied the opportunity, sparking a furious reaction from captain Sergio Parisse. Given that situation, it seems there is no way organisers will sanction the Scotland game being rescheduled.
In a further development, there are suggestions the Italian game could have been postponed until Monday but the All Blacks were unwilling to do so as it would have meant they only had a five day turnaround before their quarter-final match.
Tournament rules do state that any Pool games that cannot be played will not be rescheduled and a 0-0 draw declared. If that happens, Scotland's World Cup is over.
However, Scotland believe the extreme circumstances warrant flexibility and say they will have no option but to take legal action if the game is cancelled.
A senior Scottish Rugby spokesman is quoted as saying: “We’re willing to do whatever it takes to get this game [between Scotland and Japan] on,” said the spokesman. “There are 10,000 Scotland supporters here to see their team play, and for the integrity of the sport and this tournament, we’ve got to find a way to deliver on our undertaking to stage this game.
“World Rugby said three or four months ago that they had contingency plans in place to address any problems or challenges that might occur, and we took them at their word. We now expect them to deploy those contingency plans and ensure this match goes ahead. The fans, players and everyone who loves rugby will demand nothing less. The whole situation is almost beyond belief.”
