Foreign fans of all ages turned out Sunday for an international doubleheader that whet spectators' appetites for next year's Rugby World Cup hosted by Japan.

Fans from Europe, New Zealand, the visiting teams' home nation of Australia, and others cheered on the two friendly matches that saw NEC Green Rockets take on the Sydney-based Waratahs and Suntory Sungoliath battle the Canberra-based Brumbies at Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground.

During the day's second matchup, Brumbies' supporters, clad in their team's blue and yellow colors, shouted encouragement to the visiting team as they suffered a 28-26 loss to the Sungoliath, the reigning Top League champions.

"This has just been tremendous, a great boon to rugby in Japan," said a 68-year-old retired Australian.

The Canberra-native, who made the trip to Japan with his wife to support their hometown team, said the international games would go a long way in promoting the sport ahead of the World Cup next year.

"These international matches will put more focus on Japan and Japanese teams, so people outside the country can start to recognize them more. We're here for the Brumbies, of course, but this has been such a great trip. We're hoping to be able to come back next year."

Sitting among the Brumbies' fans was Japan women's No. 8 Mateitoga Bogidraumainadave, who came to support her cousin, Brumbies' wing Henry Speight.

"It's a great friendly atmosphere here and a good match so far," Fiji-born Bogidraumainadave said during the nail-biting second half of the Sungoliath-Brumbies match.

The contests, which ended in upset victories for the Green Rockets and Sungoliath, also featured halftime song and dance routines, as well as several musical acts outside the stadium that spectators watched as they crowded through rows of food and drink stalls.

"The halftime show was pretty interesting," said a 33-year-old woman from Australia about an all-girl pop routine featuring rugby-related lyrics. "I've never seen anything quite like that at a match back home."

Also among the throng of supporters were a number of young rugby players, who said watching the matches inspired them to continue the sport and play at more challenging levels.

"It's so cool to see (professional players) play -- it really makes me want to keep going and play better," said a 10-year-old boy from New Zealand. "I love watching rugby live, it's a lot of fun."

An 11-year-old aspiring athlete from the Netherlands conceded that he enjoyed the quality of the sport more in Japan compared to back in his home country.

"It's more professional here, so I can enjoy it more. (The athletes) play better, so it makes it more interesting," said the boy, whose father works for a Japanese company in Tokyo.

The boy, who has been playing rugby since age 7, said he and his family were excited to have the opportunity to be in Japan next year for the Sep. 20-Nov. 2 World Cup held across 12 venues nationwide.

"I'm really looking forward to it," he said. "I can't wait."