Liverpool has been flooded with fans in colourful rugby league shirts this weekend as thousands descended on the Hill Dickinson Stadium for the Betfred Super League Magic Weekend. The event, held on Saturday and Sunday, July 4-5, brought together six rivalry fixtures, music, and entertainment to the city.
Second Time Hosting
This is the second time Liverpool has hosted the event, which was previously held at Anfield in 2019. Sunday's games included Wakefield Trinity vs Castleford Tigers, Leeds Rhinos vs Bradford Bulls, with Wigan Warriors vs St Helens set to kick off at 5:30pm. Regent Road was awash with fans in gold, black, red, and blue rugby shirts when the ECHO arrived on Sunday morning, with fans in high spirits.
Fan Reactions
Phil Holmes, 81, from Bradford, and Catherine Holmes, 56, from Leeds, attended both days, marking their first visit to Liverpool. Phil told the ECHO: “We’re impressed with the city, it’s really friendly, and we were just saying how beautiful it is. We’ll have to do a return journey sometime.”
Castleford Tigers fan Ian Jackson, 56, from Middlesbrough, travelled with his two sons. He said: “It’s a fantastic city. My son went to university here so we’ve spent a lot of time here. The stadium is great, but I’m apprehensive about facing Wakefield. We’ll need luck.”
Local Connections
Leeds Rhinos fan Lee Kelsey visited with friend Jack, both accompanied by their Bradford Bulls-supporting wives. Lee said: “The stadium looks amazing. We're going to stay because my daughter plays for St Helens, she's going to be meeting us here and she will be supporting Saints and Leeds.”
St Helens fan Dave Smith, 65, from Bolton, was with daughter Chloe Smith, 33, and granddaughter Amelia Smith, 17. He previously attended the Ashes test between England and Australia at the stadium in November. He said: “It’s a hell of a trek from town if it’s chucking it down, but the weather is better today so it’s not so bad. The stadium is really nice.”
Match Results
Wakefield beat Castleford 48-6 in the first game of the day, setting a high-scoring tone for the weekend.
