THERE was a special visitor present at Liverpool St Helens rugby club as the iconic Webb Ellis Cup made an appearance.

Rugby Union's most prestigious trophy was at the club's Moss Lane base on Tuesday as part of its 100-day tour of the British Isles leading up to the start of the sport's World Cup this September.

Former England captain Bill Beaumont CBE was also in attendance along with former Liverpool RFC international Fran Cotton.

Mayor and mayoress Cllrs Stephen and Lynn Glover were also present with the day seeing a tag rugby festival involving under 7s and under 8s from 12 different clubs.

The clubs represented included youngsters from LSH, West Park and rugby league clubs Pilkington Recs and Portico Vine Panthers.

The afternoon also saw a family fun day offering the chance to give rugby a try with representatives from Sale Sharks in attendance.

"To get the trophy to come here is quite a coup really," said community rugby coach John Foster.

"We're all really pleased. The whole purpose is to be rugby united. We have a proud history in the town in both codes and so we invited the local rugby league clubs too.

"A lot of work and planning has gone into this, it's been really good and fantastic to see the children just playing sport."

There were photo opportunities with the famous trophy, which also travelled to Bury and Crosby before making its way to Blackpool on the day.

"It has been a fantastic day and here at Liverpool St Helens is a proper rugby environment," said ex-England captain Beaumont.

"St Helens is a real rugby town and today has definitely been a success. It's not often you get an opportunity to get as close to a trophy like this."

John Robertson of the LSH club, who helped organise the event added: "It has been a wonderful turnout and what we wanted it to be was for the community."