Saints marching on – 6,000 miles from home
Two life-long St Helens rugby fans are flying the flag more than 6,000 miles from Knowsley Road ahead of Saints’ crucial semi-final Challenge Cup clash next month.
Phil Southward and Arthur Smith, who both work for the North West Development Agency, are taking part in the Culture, Health and Sport month in the Liverpool pavilion which runs until the end of July.
Phil, who is also Operations Director for Liverpool at World Expo Shanghai 2010, and Arthur, a Liverpool Pavilion North West Ambassador, are also helping to show that the City Region has world class sporting teams outside of football.
Phil and Arthur were photographed in front of the sports collage in the Liverpool pavilion, which features both Liverpool and Everton football clubs and Saint’s very own, James Graham.
The classy Saints forward is the only true Scouse international rugby league player and was recruited by scouts during one of the club’s many campaigns in Merseyside. He came through the club’s junior development programme and is now a regular first team choice for both club and Great Britain while being among the top targets for Australian rugby league giants.
Phil said: “It is with great pride and definitely an honour for both Arthur and I to wave the flag for another of Merseyside’s top sporting teams – after all they have had more success in recent times than either of the football teams.
“We are delighted that James Graham agreed to be featured in the collage too and indeed many of the Chinese visitors have asked about him and rugby, so much so that we’ve got the oval ball out and given a few demonstrations, which the Chinese have been delighted to take part in.”
Arthur added: “Liverpool is of course world renowned for its culture, sport and green spaces. There is so much to do, see and visit in the city as well as across the wider North West region and that includes the mighty Saints and Phil and I hope to spread the word, especially during this month dedicated to culture, health and sport.”
Liverpool is the only UK city to have a dedicated presence at the World Expo, which runs from May to October 2010. Its participation is being led by Liverpool Vision in partnership with the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), Liverpool City Council and the Liverpool-Shanghai Partnership.
The event is regarded in Liverpool as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to consolidate existing and forge new relationships in the world’s emerging markets and to showcase Liverpool’s track record of urban regeneration under the Expo theme of Better City, Better Life.
Since the World Expo opened the Liverpool pavilion has welcomed more than 200,000 visitors who want to sample a flavour of the city and the North West region.
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