Gutted Northlanders in Japan hope to secure quarter final tickets

Arriane Christie, far right, with two Japanese rugby fans wearing the Northland taniwha jerseys who visited Whangārei two decades ago. Photo/Supplied

Now that the All Blacks' last pool game at the Rugby World Cup is cancelled, Northlander Arriane Christie and her partner are hoping to lay their hands on quarter-final tickets to compensate for the "loss".

World Rugby has cancelled the All Black v Italy as well as France v England pool-play matches scheduled for today as Typhoon Hagibis heads towards Japan.

The weather system – described as a "Super Typhoon" – is expected to unleash its full might on Saturday night, bringing dangerous winds and rain.

"We are absolutely gutted. We've spent so long planning and saving for this trip so not being able to watch the last match we have tickets for is devastating," Christie said.

"Now we are hoping we can somehow get quarter-final tickets since we will be in Tokyo for the game and also because we want to go to another game."

Christie, partner William Morunga, and their friends Paul Brown and Keeley Lawson watched the three All Blacks' pool matches and will be in Tokyo during the quarter-finals next week, although they haven't secured tickets for the knockout games.

The couple shelled between $35,000 and $40,000 and booked their trip, including tickets and accommodation, through All Blacks' tours.

Christie thought World Rugby decided to cancel two games too early when the typhoon may not be as bad as initially thought but she accepted the decision.

They were scheduled to travel by train from Kyoto to Nagoya yesterday then back to Tokyo in time for the quarter-finals.

The public has been told to stay indoors today and that all trains from Tokyo would likely be suspended due to the weather.

But the Whangārei accounts' manager said it wasn't even raining in Kyoto where they were yesterday.

"We'll probably feel the effects in Nagoya. Weather forecasters are saying it should calm down by Sunday which is good because a few Kiwis are booked to fly back home on Sunday."

She and Morunga leave Japan two days after the quarter-finals and fly to Fiji before returning home.

Christie is waiting to hear from All Black tour organisers whether they'll get a refund to the cancelled match.

Kaitaia firefighter Colin Kitchen and five others are leaving next week to watch the quarter-finals, semifinals and the final.