All Blacks Rugby World Cup match has been called off

The All Blacks' Rugby World Cup clash against Italy is set to be called off, according to reports.

World Rugby announced today that the match, set to played in Toyota on Saturday, will be cancelled due to a looming typhoon.

The England v France match will also be cancelled.

It follows earlier reports that the match, as well as the England v France game would be abandoned, also on Saturday.

Typhoon Hagibis could hit Japan on Saturday, when three matches are scheduled. Four more are set for Sunday, the final day of the preliminary round. The latest path for the typhoon is set to hit Yokohama, Tokyo and the City of Toyota over the weekend.

Photo / Getty Images

Earlier, in an email to rights holding broadcasters – including NZME's Radio Sport and Newstalk ZB – World Rugby says the typhoon is due to hit Tokyo, Yokohama and City of Toyota areas.

Games in those cities over the weekend include England v France, Japan v Samoa and All Blacks v Italy.

"World Rugby has been exploring every possible contingency within a complex and rapidly-evolving environment to ensure a fair opportunity for all matches to be played," the email said.

"Team and public safety is the primary consideration and no decision will be made that endangers safety.

The Rugby World Cup matches on Sunday are still set to go ahead, this includes Japan v Scotland. The Australia v Georgia and Ireland v Samoa games will still go ahead.

The cancellations are the first time in the 32-year history of the tournament that a match has ever been cancelled.

This article was originally published at nzherald.co.nz and is reproduced here with permission