THE VIEW FROM SCOTLAND: World Rugby can't even maintain the pretence of sporting integrity when it comes to handling Scotland's do-or-die showdown with Japan... we are the Tier One nation the World Cup can do without, and that hurts

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It's an utter farce, of course. A fudge that may yet result in a clear and impeachable offence against the very notion of sporting fair play.

And it accurately reflects not merely a shambolic lack of foresight and leadership at the top of World Rugby, but Scotland's continued status as an international irrelevance.

The fact that organisers are even thinking about allowing extreme weather to knock our boys out of the game's showpiece global tournament? 

It smacks of disdainful disrespect, treating Gregor Townsend's men as the 21st Century equivalent of cannon fodder.

The fact World Rugby are considering letting weather knock Scotland out smacks of diresepct

Should the worst come to the worst, the Scots' exit will be considered regrettable but acceptable collateral damage by administrators who hold a distinctly Blimpish view of the world.

A bad business for Toonie's lads, certainly. But offset by the continued presence of a plucky host nation who, lest anyone forget, have become pure box-office gold.

Look, no-one is arguing that lives should be put at risk in order to fulfil a fixture list.

If there is a serious danger to spectators, players or anyone else in Yokohama on Sunday, don't go ahead with Scotland v Japan.

There is a real chance that Gregor Townsend's men will not get the chance to face Japan

But surely to goodness there is a better option, a way of maintaining at least some pretence of sporting integrity, than merely abandoning all hope and declaring the non-contest a nil-nil draw.

Either decide right now that the game will be played elsewhere. Or guarantee that, if the super typhoon hits, it will be played on Monday.

Delaying the final decision until as late as four hours before kick-off, without making any promises? That stinks.

Either they're softening us up for the hammer blow. Or the men running this circus really do have no understanding of how elite sport should work.

Simply by dithering so airily over something so important, they have delivered a clear and unambiguous message.

In short, Scotland are the Tier One nation that this Rugby World Cup can live without. And that hurts.

The hope is that voices of moderation will prevail in the corridors of power.

World Rugby held a press conference on Thursday morning on the impact of Typhoon Hagibis

Governing body says a decision on the game may not be made until four hours before kick-off

Should they be drowned out by howling gales and braying platitudes, Scottish Rugby must be prepared to scream and holler in protest.

The fact that they'll receive only muted support from around the world, with most rival unions likely to sit on their hands and mutter something about it being a 'real shame' for the plucky Scots, tells us plenty about how the game is run.

And, no, the fact that rugby superpowers New Zealand, England and France have all had matches cancelled doesn't prove – as some have rather ridiculously claimed – that World Rugby are being even-handed in their treatment of all nations.

If any one of those three still needed bonus points to reach the quarter-finals, you can be absolutely certain that tournament organisers would have found a way to make their final group games go ahead.

They would have taken the All Blacks to play Italy in Auckland on a gold-plated charter plane if it meant keeping them around.

Scotland? Meh. File their complaint alongside that of the Italians and other non-members of rugby's most exclusive club.

The whole affair has exposed the amateur roots that continue to show through the glossiest of professional finishes applied to a sport still playing catch-up with the modern world.

It is beyond ludicrous that the allocation of places in the World Cup quarter-finals should be decided not even on the toss of a coin, but the spacing of isobars on a Met Office map.

For all the positivity surrounding a tournament which has won plaudits for enthusiasm, efficiency and visitor-friendly bonhomie, it must raise serious doubts over Japan's suitability as host nation.

The clash between England and France has been called off, but that is of little significance

If New Zealand needed a result, World Rugby would have made sure their clash went ahead

What happened to the contingency plans supposedly put in place to prevent such a monumental cock-up? Where are the arrangements that would protect the sporting integrity of the competition?

A complete failure to prepare, as any coach will tell you, inevitably means preparing to fail. Yet still we've reached this crisis point.

Of course, there's the more basic question of why you would even take a sporting event to Japan during typhoon season. Seriously, who looked at that minor detail and thought: 'Ach, it'll be fine …'?

There's a reason Kansas doesn't host the World Kite Flying Championships during the twister months.

Mind you, there are millions upon millions of reasons why Doha was handed the World Athletics Championships and the 2022 FIFA World Cup will be played in Qatar.

In an age when the NBA are running scared of offending China, for fear of the NFL nipping in to steal a march on the emerging market, it's hardly a shock that the world's most popular sports are chasing the money wherever it takes them.

The inconvenient truth of global storming, climate change making weather more and more extreme, is merely something to worry about once the cheques have cleared.

Rugby has merely followed other business models, then, in putting big bucks before the welfare of those who actually play the game.

That weather is even playing a role shows that World Rugby are putting money before welfare

Having resisted professionalism for so long, they are desperately trying to make up lost ground.

Yet the game remains stranded in the kind of Wild West territory occupied by association football in the 1930s or '40s.

Players can still swap international allegiances almost at will, while club competitions carry on even while the World Cup is being played.

Even star performers from 'lesser' nations, meanwhile, actually choose to carry on playing for their clubs rather than representing their countries at the biggest tournament on earth. For obvious financial reasons.

There's the fact that most places at the World Cup itself are handed out on an invitation-only basis, with the game's established powers never asked to sully themselves with anything so vulgar as a qualifying process.

Less than a quarter of a century on from the final decision to abandon amateurism as a sham, union remains a game run along old-school class lines.

Then something like this happens. An Act of God that fatally undermines all the grand mission statements and focus group-tested mantras. Leaving the whole charade exposed to accusations of high larceny and low skulduggery.

World Rugby will have no qualms with grudgingly accepting Japan reaching the last eight

Be in no doubt. If World Rugby may well 'regret' their showpiece event being disrupted by Super Typhoon Hagibis, you can be damn well sure that they'll grudgingly accept anything that puts Japan into the last eight.

When they come to put together their review of this tournament, you can be sure that the weather will only merit passing mention.

There will be focus on the hosts' surprise win over Ireland. Accompanied by crowing about the Japanese – a mere Tier Two nation, for goodness' sake – barrelling into the last eight.

What a Cinderella story. Growing the game. Expanding horizons. Breaking new ground. Yadda-yadda-yadda.

And poor old Scotland's troubles? They don't amount to a hill of beans, in the grand scheme of global expansion.

The troubles of Townsend and his Scots don't amount to a hill of beans in the scheme of things

No-one outside of this country will care very much. A few old rivals will even take great joy in our misfortune.

And the grand global festival, a celebration of all that is good about a uniquely honourable game, will carry on without our involvement, its overlords unperturbed by our absence.

Untroubled by their own abject abandonment of every principle that ever made sport worth watching.

We hope it doesn't come to that. As any fan of Scottish sport can testify, though, hope is rarely enough.