In case you haven't heard, the Rugby World Cup is in Asia for the first time.

Taking place in Japan, the tournament feels completely different to its predecessors and both foreign and Japanese fans have been revelling in it.

There are many things to love about a World Cup out east, some of which were expected and some which have come as a welcome surprise.

But after a bit of discussion, the BBC Sport team in Japan have settled on what they love most.

The unpredictability

BBC rugby union correspondent Chris Jones

You never quite know what you are going to get in Japan. It is never boring; and always fun.

For example, the weather seems impossible to predict - any given day could be a combination of perfect sunshine or torrential storms - while at breakfast one needs to be prepared to eat anything from rare beef to fish stew to donuts and cakes.

And for such polite and reserved people, the Japanese also absolutely love letting their hair down by getting stuck into good food and good drink - often in a karaoke booth.

The upsets

BBC chief sports writer Tom Fordyce

Every World Cup needs a result in the group stages that shakes up the established order, that messes with the predictions you may have made on your wallchart and keeps you watching other matches that you might otherwise assume to be dead certs.

In 2007, you had Fiji beating Wales. In 2011, you had Tonga upsetting France, and in 2015 you had Japan's famous victory over South Africa.

What this World Cup is delivering is not just an isolated one-off but - maybe - a story that could kick on and on. Should hosts Japan make it through to the knock-out stages for the first time in their history, it would be devastating for Scotland but remarkable for the wider tournament.

Other tier-two nations have struggled, and that should be a concern for World Rugby. To have the host nation in the last eight would cover up a number of those wider issues.

The Japanese fans

BBC Radio 5 Live rugby union producer Louise Gwilliam

The enthusiasm of the Japanese fans for this World Cup has been like no other tournament I've ever been to.

Not only do they buy the shirt of every team they go and see (imagine hundreds of Japanese fans in full Namibia kit, backpack and all) they have also learnt the words to every national anthem and sing them with as much pride as passionate Argentines, crying Frenchmen and women and multi-lingual South Africans.

The language

Former England fly-half and BBC Radio 5 Live pundit Paul Grayson

Never have so few words in a native tongue elicited such a warm response.

I know how to say about six things in Japanese covering a huge range of topics from hello to sorry and all the way to excuse me.

The response to these attempts is pure joy from the recipient and then they politely speak to you in Japanese after which you nod and smile and point at stuff.

You feel welcomed and foreign all at the same time. Loud English gets you nowhere here and that's absolutely as it should be.

The respect

BBC Sport journalist Becky Grey

Japanese society has a lot to teach us about respect. Trains are plastered with signs reminding travellers not to use their phones on-board and on match days there are announcements in English telling fans not to "cause any discomfort" for their fellow passengers.

The high value placed on respecting others has translated onto the pitch too. Teams have stayed out on the field after full-time to go round and bow to every side of the stadium, as is the Japanese custom when thanking someone.

And there's been plenty of respect between teams behind the scenes. After thrashing them 63-0, reigning champions New Zealand invited Canada into their dressing room for a few post-match beers.

The rules

BBC Radio 5 Live rugby union producer Louise Gwilliam

The Japanese love a rule, and there's absolutely no deviating from them, but it makes life in Japan really quite pleasant and easy.

Everyone waits at the crossings for the green man, even on back streets with no-one around. There are signs painted on the floor of where to queue on train platforms and no-one ever pushes in.

Trains are always on time, and when over a minute late you get a public apology. Lastly, shoes must be taken off inside, no outdoor shoes are allowed in gyms and caps must be worn by everyone in the swimming pools.

The hosts

BBC Radio 5 Live commentator Gareth Lewis

My favourite personal moment so far was being presented with a jar of marmite in a little bar-cum-restaurant in Tokyo. We had popped in there to watch the England v USA game and had deliberately chosen a place with no westerners.

After pretty much everyone had had a go at their English, the bar owner was so excited to have British guests that he produced a tiny jar of marmite from behind the counter and made us pose for pictures with it.

And as for the rugby... I am not counting my chickens or making any predictions, but to see Wales beat Australia at a World Cup for the first time in 32 years - at last - was pretty special.

I'm not quiet when I watch games at home on the TV and tend to live every pass, kick and moment of unbearable tension. To let all that out by commentating on the game itself was an unforgettable experience. I've just about left another level to get up to in case Wales go on and do something special.

Ireland's Joey Carbery says he is enjoying playing at fly-half having recovered from an ankle knock.

The Munster 10 was a late withdrawal from the squad that defeated Russia 35-0 in Pool A last Thursday.

Carbery was initially selected as bench cover for several positions, including scrum-half, despite his very limited professional playing time there.

"I did a bit of 10 today [Tuesday], which is the position I play so I'm pretty happy with that," said Carbery.

"If there's a certain break in training where I'm needed to go in at nine or 15 or something like that, then I get a tap on the shoulder but it's up to the coaches really.

"I'm happy to be playing at 10, it's the position I love so it's good to get reps in there."

Viewed by many as the heir-apparent to Ireland's number 10 jersey currently occupied by Johnny Sexton, Carbery moved from Leinster to Munster at the beginning of the 2018-19 campaign.

The switch was facilitated by the Irish Rugby Football Union, who were keen for Carbery to have regular game-time at fly-half as opposed to full-back where he often found himself operating at Leinster.

The 23-year-old enjoyed a fine debut season at Munster, guiding the province to Pro14 and European Champions Cup semi-finals.

"It was pretty good to play week in, week out at 10 because you can kind of get a feel for the players around you," he reflected.

"I was getting a lot of game-time and was kind of getting into the swing of things.

"The injuries were a bit frustrating but I did show with game-time and consistency at the position I'm playing at then I can get a lot better."

Likely return to squad to face Samoa

An ankle injury in Ireland's opening World Cup warm-up match on 10 August threatened to end Carbery's tournament before it had even begun.

His selection, despite not being fit enough to be included in the squad for the first game against Scotland, was another strong indication of head coach Joe Schmidt's faith in the player.

So far Carbery's tournament has been restricted to a 20-minute cameo from the bench against Japan.

"I was a bit rusty I felt," he said.

"It was obviously very tough, Japan were putting us under immense pressure and they kind of closed all our options off and suffocated us a bit so huge credit to them."

Now fully fit, it is likely that Carbery will be named among the replacements for Ireland's final Pool A assignment against Samoa on Saturday.

After Thursday's victory over Russia, head coach Joe Schmidt said that he was hopeful of giving Sexton, who was withdrawn at half-time, 60 minutes in Fukuoka.

Barcelona have sacked under-19 team coach Victor Valdes less than three months after bringing him back to the Camp Nou as a result of several disagreements with club executives and workers, sources have confirmed to ESPN FC.

Last Friday, ESPN FC reported that Valdes had already said goodbye to his players after Barca announced the former goalkeeper was not going to travel to Saturday's game against Gimnastic in Tarragona.

- ESPN La Liga fantasy: Sign up now!
- When does the transfer window reopen?

Barca made the announcement on Monday morning and have immediately replaced Valdes with Franc Artiga, who was the coach of the under-19 B team and part of the youth set up at La Masia since 2010.

Sources close to the club told ESPN FC Valdes was given a dressing down on Friday by Patrick Kluivert, who is the director of youth football.

There have been clashes over a range of issues, including the team's formation, the management of star player Ilaix Moriba and Valdes' failure to turn up for important meetings with other coaches at the club.

Barca's U19s are unbeaten in the league but dropped points against Cornella and have lost both of their Youth League games, against Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan.

Valdes completed his UEFA Pro licence alongside former teammate and friend Xavi Hernandez, who is working in Qatar, and the two have been linked to Victor Font, who is a candidate for the 2021 club presidential elections.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is battling to build a unified squad at Manchester United amid the club's worst start to a season in 30 years, with sources having told ESPN FC of concerns within Old Trafford that the playing squad lacks unity and togetherness.

United sit 12th in the Premier League, two points above the relegation zone, after winning just two league games so far this season.

- ESPN Premier League fantasy: Sign up now!
- VAR in the Premier League: Ultimate guide
- When does the transfer window reopen?
- Premier League winter break: All you need to know

And despite a summer rebuilding programme led by Solskjaer, aimed at improving the morale and collective spirit within the squad by offloading Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez, who were deemed to be incompatible with the manager's plans, promising early signs during preseason have now dissipated as results have deteriorated.

Sources have told ESPN FC that one senior player arranged a meal for the squad in a city centre restaurant last month, but only five chose to attend, including two of the younger players in Solskjaer's squad.

Paul Pogba's injury problems, which have forced the France midfielder to miss five of United's 11 games to date, have not helped the mood within the squad, with sources having said that, contrary to the general perception, the player's influence has been positive behind the scenes since the summer and that his presence is missed, on and off the pitch, when he is not fit and contributing to the team.

Pogba is training away from the United squad in Dubai as he attempts to return to fitness following a foot injury.

Despite first-team players regularly remarking on the positive team spirit within the dressing room, Solskjaer believes that a greater sense of unity is crucial for the team to emerge from its slump.

But there is also an acceptance that the manager and coaches can only do so much to trigger a greater sense of the collective, with the responsibility to do that largely at the feet of the players.

Spain manager Roberto Moreno announced his squad last Friday in the now fashionable, social-media-friendly manner at which the Spanish FA has become pretty good.

It's ironic that it was Moreno, a Catalan, a self-declared Barcelona supporter and someone who helped coach that club to the Treble in 2015, who went on to name Sergio Busquets as the only Camp Nou representative with La Roja to play Norway and Sweden. There were, of course, eras when Barca would be sending seven or eight footballers off to Spain duty -- Carles Puyol, Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Gerard Pique, Victor Valdes, David Villa, Pedro, and so on and so forth.

Sergi Roberto's form and Jordi Alba's injury partly explain why Busquets was deprived of any club company on the Puente Aereo (air bridge) from Barcelona's El Prat airport to the Spanish capital. But it's symbolic too, of the change happening in Busquets's career, indicative of a massive sea change in elite European football and an indication that Moreno remains a true believer in the concepts that Johan Cruyff held and Pep Guardiola holds, but are now patently being eroded.

Busquets is enduring the bleakest beginning to any season since he broke through, under Guardiola, in 2008. Ernesto Valverde has dropped him three times -- unheard of. He's only eighth and 11th in the list of Barcelona players with the most minutes in La Liga and the Champions League, respectively.

And he was, ignominiously, hooked when Barca trailed Inter last Wednesday and their coach threw caution to the wind by moving to a 4-2-3-1 formation with the introduction of Arturo Vidal and Ousmane Dembele. Within five minutes of Busquets departing, the change worked. From 1-0 down to 1-1 and then a total domination of play that, eventually, brought an epic win.

Busquets' replacement, Vidal, created the first goal, pressed like an enthusiastic rottweiler puppy and, realistically, changed the entire pattern of the game. The Chilean, at 32, is in his footballing twilight; but his attitude, physique, athleticism, aggression, pressing and tempo are all the prototypes for the kind of footballer Europe's biggest clubs now covet. Times are changing.

That said, Valverde's loss of faith in Busquets generally hasn't been that profitable. Twice prior to Saturday's 4-0 win over Sevilla, when he was also benched, the 31-year-old Catalan was dropped -- in defeats to Athletic Club and Granada, no goals scored.

- Euro 2020 qualifying: All you need to know
- Lowe: Why Courtois is struggling to win over Madrid fans
- Odegaard showing La Liga he's more than just a piece of trivia

Valverde's loss of faith in Busquets also has been ultra dramatic. Last season, while winning La Liga for the eighth time since Busquets joined the first team 11 years ago, Valverde used this order-installing central midfielder in every single game from August until mid-April barring once -- when he was suspended. Busquets was then rested against Huesca on April 13 so that he'd be fresh for Manchester United in the Champions League, then missed just one more La Liga match through suspension.

The conclusion: Across a season in which they won the title, came within a goal of reaching the Champions League final and lost the Copa del Rey final, Barcelona only played three La Liga matches without Busquets -- winning none of them, failing to score in two and losing at Celta Vigo. No Busquets, no three points -- that was the message just a few short months ago.

Then came the massacre of Anfield from which, there can be no doubt, Valverde drew sharp conclusions. Ivan Rakitic -- Busquets's bodyguard most of last season, his running mate and Winston Wolfe-like problem solver -- seems to be on his way out of the club. Barcelona patently want to sell him. No Rakitic, apparently, means less Busquets.

All of which makes his Spain inclusion fascinating.

He's at an age, and at an athletic stage, when you'd imagine that, like Pique, who's only a year and a half the elder, Busquets might feel hugely relieved at getting several free days without matches or training over the international break. Time to clear the brain, disconnect, rid the limbs of any lingering, niggling pain, stay away from planes and trains and reset in time for the massively important couple of months between now and the short Christmas break.

Not a bit of it, it seems.

And it's equally interesting that Spain's coach is still a firm believer. When justifying who he'd picked and who he'd unceremoniously dropped, Moreno said on Friday: "I believe players have to be in this squad because of what they do, not because of who they are."

Completely fair, but of course, we've established that since the last international break, Busquets hasn't been playing quite so regularly nor has his form been stellar. He's in, though.

By comparison, Dani Parejo, who featured in three of Spain's past four Euro 2020 qualifying matches -- all wins -- has scored a couple of goals and provided a couple of assists for Valencia since the last international break. He's been dropped, though. Alvaro Morata, recently fit and back in Atletico Madrid's starting lineup -- not to mention a regular goal scorer for Spain -- is also excluded and felt moved to point out, unhappily, "I'd really hoped that I would be picked for this squad."

This column isn't about Parejo or Morata, but they serve to show that, to Moreno, Busquets remains special. Neither his absence from the Barcelona team nor his form affected his selection. Moreno wants a cerebral presence in midfield in order to withstand helter-skelter pressing from Norway and Sweden -- the very thing Valverde seems not to trust now.

Way back when the Catalan broke into Guardiola's Treble-winning 2008-09 team, Valverde, then at Villarreal, was asked to assess Busquets: "He oozes self-confidence and, from day one, has known precisely what to do in every situation. He adds equilibrium and control to Barcelona's midfield," he said a decade ago.

But when he was asked about Vidal's introduction against Inter, Valverde said: "Vidal brings pressing and a certain disorder between the lines which we needed. If we want control and possession, we've got Arthur and [Frenkie] De Jong." Please note: no mention of Busquets in relation to "control" and "possession." Unthinkable a season or two ago.

But this isn't an isolated issue. Possession-based football is under attack all over Europe. Tottenham have faded this term, Manchester City are wracked by injuries, Marcelo Bielsa's Leeds didn't get promoted, Chelsea sacked Maurizio Sarri despite him getting them playing the closest thing to Guardiola football as is possible to imagine, and La Roja themselves are deep in transition.

Trying to work out if the formula that brought them three straight international trophies is sustainable without possession addicts like Xavi, Iniesta, Villa, Xabi Alonso, Marcos Senna or David Silva? Roma, Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus all have trampled over Barcelona recently. They are bigger, faster sides packed with stamina, not lacking technical excellence, intelligence or wit; but certainly not playing the brand of football for which Busquets is now an increasingly isolated representative.

This was once Guardiola.

Busquets has always been the closest thing to a young, dominant, intelligent Guardiola, the fulcrum of Cruyff's "Dream Team" of the early 1990s. He possesses the same ideas, same skills, same deficiencies (pace, power and athleticism), same brilliant technical gifts and vision, same bravery in showing for the ball, intercepting danger, thinking three passes ahead of everyone else.

Guardiola left Camp Nou burned out, jaded and keenly needing new inspiration, when he was 30 -- a landmark Busquets passed last year.

Within a couple of seasons, Guardiola was in Qatari football, saying: "I think players like me have become extinct because the game is now more tactical and physical. At most clubs players are given specific roles and creativity can only exist within those parameters. To play in front of the back four now you have to be a ball winner. If I were a 20-year-old at Barcelona now I'd never make it as a professional. At best I'd be playing in the third division somewhere."

Although it's happening again, the outlook for Busquets is not so glum. On form, with runners around him, with Arthur blossoming and De Jong's heyday some time away, he can still be deeply influential for Barcelona in specific types of contests. His brain is as bright as ever, his technical marvels undimmed. But he continues to be hustled, hassled and pressed, he continues to give away far more possession than was once imaginable.

One day, some time hence, Xavi will be Barcelona manager and, if Busquets isn't still playing, he'll be Xavi's assistant. Bank on it. That's when 4-3-3, position, possession and pressing will be the untouchable mantras at the Camp Nou once more.

For the moment, Busquets has two choices: hunker down into a mode in which he squeezes every last drop of quality out of decreasing first-team starts, or follow Guardiola's 2001 decision to seek out new pastures in a league in which brains, technique and vision are rated more highly than speed, power and perpetual high-tempo pressing.

Melbourne Stars have signed South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn for a six-game stint at the start of the upcoming Big Bash League season.

Steyn had long been on the Stars wishlist and he joins fellow South Africans AB de Villiers and Chris Morris in the BBL, after de Villiers signed with the Brisbane Heat and Morris with the Sydney Thunder. Steyn joins Nepal legspinner Sandeep Lamichhane as the Stars' second overseas signing.

The paceman, South Africa's most successful in Tests, retired from the longest format in August following a sequence of injuries, bringing the curtain down on a great career. However, he is still contracted with Cricket South Africa and available for ODI and T20I selection although he was left out of South Africa's recent T20I tour to India with the selectors claiming he was not medically ready, even though Steyn believed he was fit.

The Stars got in contact with him shortly after he announced his Test retirement and, following a short period of negotiation, CSA cleared him to play the first six games of the BBL although Steyn suggested the door remained open for an extension if he doesn't get selected for the England limited-overs series, which starts in early February.

"It's something that I've wanted to do for a while, play Big Bash," Steyn said. "Unfortunately representing the Proteas for the bulk of my career over Christmas time we've always got Test matches on, the Boxing Day and New Year's Test matches. So I haven't been available. But since retiring from Test cricket, it's opened up a little window for me while the Proteas play red-ball cricket."

Steyn hasn't played since he injured his shoulder in the IPL in April and he was ruled out of the World Cup shortly after it began. He is currently preparing to play for Cape Town Blitz in the Mzansi Super League, which begins in November.

He said his body has been in great shape after retiring from Test cricket but that he has found training on his own challenging. "It's been a bit boring," Steyn said. "I'm doing a lot of training by myself and a lot of training with the high school kids. They're the only teams I can kind of practice with right now. So if you ask them, they're pretty scared, but they're surviving.

"The biggest relief off my shoulders was when I retired from Test cricket and I knew I didn't have to bowl 40 overs in a Test anymore. It was amazing. All the training that I'm currently doing right now, it's to bowl only 24 balls. When I put that into comparison to what I've done over the last 15 years of my career it really is pretty easy."

The ten-game home-and-away leg of the Mzansi Super League finishes on December 8. The eliminator is on December 13 and the final on December 16, with Steyn planning on playing every match for the Blitz.

The Stars' first game of the BBL is on December 20, against the Heat at Metricon Stadium on the Gold Coast, and Steyn is expected to be available for that match. However, he will not face de Villiers, who will join the Heat in the second week of January.

Steyn said the pair had been exchanging messages. "It was strange. This was somehow leaked maybe a month ago, it leaked quite quickly and then went quiet and then AB caught wind of it and he sent me a message and said to me he was going over to play but he couldn't tell me which team. But he was excited that we were both going to be in Australia," Steyn said. "I think he was just excited to know that there would be another South African there that he could try and bully around the ground."

Unfortunately, that clash seems unlikely as Steyn's last game for the Stars is set to be the Melbourne derby against the Renegades at the MCG on January 4 and the Stars' second game against the Heat is on January 25.

South Africa's next ODI is February 4 against England with the T20Is starting on February 12 and Steyn is likely to be needed in South Africa prior to prepare for that series if selected. Part of the reason he is playing in the BBL is to get some cricket in Australia ahead of the men's T20 World Cup in October next year.

"It all depends on selection, but right now I am available for South Africa so I have to kind of wait for that selection to happen," Steyn said. "I guess it's maybe one of the reasons why Cricket South Africa has let me go, to be honest.

"I think knowing that I'm not available for the Tests, wanting to keep me fit but also having one eye on the T20 World Cup at the back end of next year I think they probably felt like it was a good call to let me go, which is also great because it keeps me in the running for that World Cup."