England rugby union international Charlie Ewels explained why he loved his first trip to Liverpool for the game with Fiji at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium as he and his team-mates enjoyed a session with local schoolchildren at the People’s Hub on Spellow Lane.

Ewels was one of three England squad members, alongside Ted Hill and Manny Iyogun, who were joined by coaches Richard Wigglesworth and Byron McGuigan, at an event on Friday that was run by Everton in the Community and supported by Sale Sharks Foundation.

With CEO Sue Gregory and CEO of the RFU (Rugby Football Union) Bill Sweeney – himself a passionate Evertonian – in attendance, Everton in the Community welcomed the England squad members to their Goodison Campus where they engaged with some primary age children in a digital skills lab and creative studio activity, before doing some team building activities and T1 rugby with young people involved in their interventions programme.

The 31-year-old was an enthusiastic participant and told the ECHO: “That was a lot of fun. I was chatting to some of the kids before and they asked me: ‘Rugby, what’s that? I’ve not heard of it.’

“Then, within 30 seconds they’ve gone from probably never touching a rugby ball before to passing it back to each other and hitting the target every time and they’re loving it. That’s really cool.

“I think we play a wonderful game. I want everyone to experience our game, and I think the values of our game apply to everyone, so the more people who get to experience our game and play our game, fall in love with our game, the better.”

Ewels added: “It doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re all going to go on and play it forever, but if they can learn to appreciate it, it might be that one of them finds it and that’s the sport for them. I come from Bournemouth which is a pretty football-heavy area as well, there wasn’t a lot of rugby going on but I wasn’t very good at football and I didn’t enjoy it.

“I found rugby and I loved it. It fitted me and suited what I wanted to do and was a game that I wanted to play. Maybe one of the kids here today has played a game that they’re going to go on and play again?

“If not, at least when they see rugby on the television, they’ll be like: ‘Oh yeah, I remember that day, I ran around and know how to pass that ball, it bounces all different directions, it’s funny.’”

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England would subsequently end a five-game losing streak to run in 11 tries against an ill-disciplined Fiji side who saw scrum-half Simione Kuruvoli shown a straight red card for a kick out at Ellis Genge at the end of the first half, recording a 73-8 win, their largest ever against the Pacific Island nation. However, with Fiji officially the hosts for the fixture by the Mersey waterfront, the 50,209 attendance was a record high for one of their home games as England played a match in this country away from Twickenham for the first time since 2019.

Ewels enjoyed the visit and said: “This is my first time in Liverpool but I love it. We were down in town earlier in Bold Street and that kind of vibe, that kind of feel, I like places like that when they’re not sterile and they’ve got a bit about them.

“Just driving around, we’ve seen Goodison Park, we’ve been to the new stadium and had a look at Anfield, you get a feel for the city. Football is ingrained in this place but also the docks and the Beatles, I like coming to places that have got history and stuff about them.

“It’s amazing to come to Liverpool and what a stadium Everton have. We were there for training and genuinely, it’s one of the nicest stadiums I’ve ever been in.

“It’s unbelievable, the setting of it, the stadium itself, I can’t wait to see it full on Saturday and hear the noise. Whether you’re playing or not, the thing with tours is that none of us go home and we’re together the whole time, we’re all at the ground, training and supporting each other with some of us warming up with the team, so we’re there right up to the last moment before kick-off.

“The Allianz Stadium at Twickenham is a wonderful stadium and it’s nice to have our home but equally I think experiences like this are amazing, taking our game around the country to areas that don’t see rugby union as much.”

Everton’s neighbours Liverpool have taken head coach Andoni Iraola from Ewels’ home town of Bournemouth after he guided the club to the highest finish in their history. But while the lock forward is delighted to see a rapid rise in fortunes at the Vitality Stadium, he is also encouraging some of the patrons from the Premier League’s smallest venue to make the 63-mile trek up from the Dorset coast to the Recreation Ground to watch him in action.

He said: “I’ve got some mates who are die-hards who have followed them all the way up from League Two to European qualification last season. I’m not going to sit here and pretend to be a plastic Cherries fan but there are friends back home who are absolutely delighted and it’s great for the town.

“The funny thing is, all my Bournemouth mates, they all come to Bath games now, and I’ve got them into the rugby. There are bits of that they love, like the fans all sitting in among each other with elements of the matchday experience that are very different to football, so while they still love their football, they also love their rugby away days.”

T1 rugby is the first non-contact form of rugby that reflects all the characteristics of rugby union, including lineouts, scrums, kicking and a breakdown, to introduce young people. It is being used in primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities, community programmes and with partners such as Scouts and Guides to introduce people to rugby union.

Nearly 5,000 people played rugby across the 21 Merseyside rugby union clubs last year. These numbers included 3,153 age grade players in clubs – a 6% increase on the previous year – and the biggest percentage increase was seen among registered girls, where there was a 13% upturn from 281 in 2024/5 to 316 in 2025/6.

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