Young players from Bangladesh, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Thailand, Taiwan and Macau came together at Genkai Junior Rugby Club in Japan to participate in the second Asian Rugby Exchange Festival.

It involved an XRugby tournament, which is a key aspect of World Rugby's Impact Beyond legacy programme, resulting in more than 1.8 million people playing rugby in Asia ahead of this year's World Cup.

XRugby encourages participation, with an emphasis on enjoyment and simplicity, without the need for posts or large squads.

It is played on a 50x70m pitch, with seven players on each side.

Scrums, lineouts and mauls feature just three players, while tackles and all kicks must be under shoulder height.

Sixteen under-14 teams finished the first day of the two-day tournament at Sanix Global Arena Stadium and settled down for the big World Cup clash.  

Little did they know that Kenki Fukuoka was about to make history as an ex-Genkai Juniors player.

When his crucial try led to the hosts stunning Ireland, his fans were going crazy, 750 kilometres away.

"The young players here look up to Kenki and try to copy his stepping style," Genkai coach Masahiro Oba said.

"He is a player who has been where they are now." 

Ian Davidson was one of the players who travelled to Japan with his club, the Jakarta Komodos.

Living in Indonesia, which does not have a large rugby-playing population, meant Ian did not always have access to the sport.

"When I got into rugby I didn't really know what it was, but after the first day I just fell in love with it," he said.

"I'm really excited to be here. 

"I love playing in tournaments because all year I've been playing against the same people and, finally, I get to play against some new teams and get to meet people from all over Asia."

The young players also attended the Italy versus Canada World Cup match in Fukuoka as part of their four-day trip.