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Typhoon Hagibis brought Team Canada’s World Cup campaign to an early finish, but the kindhearted athletes still had one more thing to do in Japan.

The 2019 Rugby World Cup matches are taking place at a dozen venues across Japan, and the smallest of the bunch is Iwate Prefecture’s Kamaishi Recovery Memorial Stadium. The stadium has a capacity of just over 16,000 spectators, while the town of Kamaishi itself only has about 34,000 residents.

Nonetheless, a lot of fans had been looking forward to the match between Canada and Namibia that was scheduled for October 13. Unfortunately, though, in addition to the two teams there was a third guest heading Kamaishi’s way, as the powerful Typhoon Hagibis barreled through east Japan this weekend.

On Saturday night, heavy rains caused landslides and flooding in the mountains near Kamaishi Recovery Memorial Stadium, and evacuation orders were issued for parts of the nearby community. After much debate on Sunday morning the decision was made to cancel the match, and with both Canada and Namibia already sitting at three losses and no wins in their highly competitive Pool B (which includes powerhouses New Zealand and South Africa), the match will not be rescheduled. That decision ended Canada’s World Cup campaign, and since the team wasn’t spending time on the pitch, they decided to pitch in and help Kamaishi recover from the effects of the typhoon.

Following the cancellation of their match in Kamaishi, @RugbyCanada players headed out to help with recovery effort… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

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Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 13, 2019

Grabbing shovels and brushes, the Canadian rugby team turned into a team of Canadian volunteers, as they cleared away mud and other debris that had been swept in by the storm and were clogging the city’s streets. While this would be a touching gesture under any circumstances, it had a special significance because of Kamaishi’s recent history.

台風19号の影響で、本日の試合が中止になったカナダ代表 @RugbyCanada🇨🇦

そのまま釜石の町に残り、ボランティア活動を行いました🍁✨

#RWC2019 #RWC釜石 #NAMvCAN https://t.co/bwTpHAJPsV

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ラグビーワールドカップ (@rugbyworldcupjp) October 13, 2019

Remember how the stadium is called Kamaishi Recovery Memorial Stadium? The “Recovery” part of the name comes from the venue’s construction being part of the revitalization projects following the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan’s Tohoku region, of which Iwate is a part, and “Memorial” is in remembrance of the more than 1,200 Kamaishi residents who lost their lives on that tragic day eight years ago.

Two nations unite in reaction to tragedy 🇨🇦🇯🇵

This is what sport is truly about! 🙌

@RugbyCanada #ITVRugby #RWC2019 https://t.co/TsByUTIuAa

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ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) October 13, 2019

“We heard stories about what happened here eight years ago, and to be here for another natural disaster, we felt that we had to come out. It is the least we could do,” said Team Canada member Andrew Coe. Thankfully, Typhoon Hagibis didn’t cause damage anywhere near as severe as what the town suffered in 2011, but local residents were still deeply appreciative for the help, with messages of thanks coming from the official Twitter account of Kamaishi Recovery Memorial Stadium and others.

Canada team helped local people clean up a mud messy road after the strong typhoon. We really appreciate it. After… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

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釜石鵜住居復興スタジアム (@kama_stadium) October 13, 2019

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2019/10/13 岩手県釜石市で予定されていたラグビーワールドカップ日本大会ナミビア対カナダは、台風19号の影響で中止になりました。
市内では泥かきなどの作業が行われています。
#ThankYouFromKAMAISHI… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

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#Thank You From KAMAISHI (@TYFK2019) October 13, 2019

ラグビー・カナダ代表、釜石でボランティア…ナミビア試合中止で
読売新聞ｵﾝﾗｲﾝ10/13 17:41

台風１９号で浸水した岩手県釜石市の被災地に１３日午後、ラグビーＷ杯カナダ代表選手１７人

ありがとうございました!!
ＥＡＳ… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

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Higashi Yoshiaki(ＥＡＳＴ)表示送達ｺｰﾅｰ4670878船原町1-13-2 東義昭 (@1380Ay) October 13, 2019

Meanwhile, the Namibian team set up a fan appreciation event in Iwate’s Miyako City, where the team had been staying, signing autographs and posing for pictures with fans in hopes of giving them some extra cheer as they deal with the aftermath of the storm.

@RugbyCanada 台風の影響で試合が中止になったナミビア代表は、滞在先の岩手県宮古市でファン交流会を開催🇳🇦✨

台風の被害を受けた市民を元気づけたいと、ナミビア代表側から市に打診し実現しました👏

#RWC2019… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

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ラグビーワールドカップ (@rugbyworldcupjp) October 13, 2019

With the cancelled match being officially recognized as a draw, both Canada and Namibia head home from the World Cup with 0-3-1 records for the contest, but even though they didn’t achieve a single on-field victory between them, somehow we suspect both teams earned a lot of new fans during their time in Japan.

Sources: Rugby Canada, World Rugby, Rugby World Cup 2019, Daily Sports via Hachima Kiko
Featured image: Twitter/@kama_stadium
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