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Wales Online
Wales Online
Sport
Ben James

Japanese schoolchildren's wonderful rendition of Calon Lân as Wales players sign autographs at training session

Wales have already had quite a vocal welcome to Japan ahead of the Rugby World Cup officially kicking off this Friday.

Locals joined in with the national anthem as Warren Gatland's side went about their business at their open training session in Kitakyushu.

And a contender for the most charming encounter so far has emerged after a video of a group of Japanese schoolchildren singing Calon Lân to the Welsh players was posted on social media.

Tweeted from the Welsh Rugby Union's account, it shows a group of around 15 children singing the Welsh song perfectly as Wales stars sign autographs for some of the 15,000 in attendance.

The city of Kitakyushu itself has been transformed into a sea of red, with public transport, signs and even the airport adorned with support for Wales as part of an engagement programme set up by the WRU.

Wales branding can be found on fire engines, postal vans and buses, while videos have emerged of locals parading  through the streets wearing red and chanting their support for Wales.

Wales now head into their official welcome and capping ceremony. You can follow live updates on that here.

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