Rugby League comes to Everton! Pubs open at 9am and Liverpool's Premier League game is moved as excitement builds for Ashes clash... 117 years after Goodison Park hosted the same fixture

'It's do or die and I couldn't dream of a better place to face that challenge.'

Paul Sculthorpe's eyes light up. The former St Helens and England loose forward wishes he was back playing and facing old foes Australia in the second of rugby league's three Ashes clashes on Saturday. Not least because Sculthorpe is a fully-fledged Everton fan.

'For the Ashes to come back, England versus Australia, it’s the biggest game in rugby league,' says Sculthorpe, who won four Super League titles and five Challenge Cups, alongside 30 Test appearances for England, including the last Ashes test here in 2003.

'You look at the stadium and what it means for Everton, and now what it means for Rugby League to be a part of that. It’s going to be special.'

History will be made at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium this weekend as, a week after Australia won the opening game of the series 26-6 at Wembley, the £800million venue on Liverpool's iconic waterfront plays host to its first non-football event. 

The city has embraced the prospect. General admission tickets sold out within an hour of going on sale. More than 50,000 are expected to attend and, with the Aussies in town, Liverpool's pubs, famous for their hospitality, are throwing open their doors from 9am in anticipation of the occasion.

Publican Dominic Hornsby runs the popular Denbigh Castle and Bridewell pubs in Liverpool's city centre. Born a drop-kick from Whitehaven's rugby league ground, there's no disguising his affection for the sport.

'It is absolutely huge; a game-changer to have such a prestigious match on our doorstep, right in the heart of the city,' says Hornsby, who will be ensuring his venues, just a two-mile walk from the stadium, are among those open bright and early.

'We're in one of the football capitals of the world. Having the Test match here, with the amount of people in town from all over the world including plenty of Aussies, will have an unbelievable impact. You can't underestimate it.

'I'm rugby league daft and in a long career in this wonderful city I've always tried to promote our game. For me, rugby league is the greatest game of all, the toughest sport on earth. England v Australia is where the elite come together.

‘Nothing but the best is good enough hence the choice of venue. The Australian fans have been in and around and are just as excited as us to experience this amazing new ground and feel the atmosphere.'

Liverpool's Premier League fixture with Aston Villa at Anfield has been pushed back to an 8pm kick-off as the city makes room to accommodate the oval ball, while Everton offered a sneak peek of what to expect on their social media channels with rugby goalposts now set in place.

Though Anfield has played the more recent host to league, the 13-man code's ties with Everton go back as far as 1893 when Goodison Park was used for an exhibition game between Runcorn and Swinton. And, 15 years later, the newly-formed Australian rugby league national side, on their first ever tour, arrived to play a Northern League XIII.

Around 6,000 spectators turned out on November 18, 1908 as the Kangaroos, who wore sky blue and maroon jumpers to represent New South Wales and Queensland where the majority of their players were from, edged a tight contest 10-9.

The Liverpool Echo on the day reported the attendance as 'a healthy crowd', but greater national attention was still paid to Australia's visiting rugby union side who played Cambridge University on the same night.

More than a century later, union still holds the upper hand commercially but you sense Liverpool wants to play its part to redress that balance.

The potential to capitalise was not lost on Rhodri Jones, managing director of Rugby League Commercial. He admits that Hill Dickinson Stadium was always the No1 choice.

'A brand new stadium, nobody had been there before and no history there, and clearly a jewel in the crown for the city of Liverpool as well. You can’t change history, can you? If you are first, no one can scratch you off. We are very privileged and very proud,' says Jones.

'It was a pretty easy process, really, in terms of shortlisting the stadiums because they were No1 on the list for us. We could see that the national stadium was available, and we wanted to go to Headingley, which gave us some opportunities in the north west.

'Tickets went on sale, 52,000 got sold and the majority of it was done in the reserved window before being on sale for a couple of hours in the day on general sale.

'We are in a very fortunate position where we are turning people away this week.

'I like to think that people will make a day of it in Liverpool and a day out in Liverpool. Come early and experience the waterfront and then have a walk up to the stadium.'

Sculthorpe for one will be a mere stone's throw from the ground ahead of kick-off. The 48-year-old is headlining a pre-game question and answer session for supporters in the makeshift Howard Kendall Suite, named after Everton's most successful manager, across from the Titanic Hotel.

England captain George Williams said: 'I might be a Liverpool fan but I'm really looking forward to this. Wembley had a big crowd and the atmosphere was good but we know Everton could be even better. It's been sold out for ages so we know that fans are buzzing for the opportunity to go. Let's hope they make lots of noise and make it hostile for Australia.'

'You can tell the atmosphere here is going to be amazing,' added Wigan Warriors half-back and Evertonian Harry Smith, who took in the scale of the stadium after being recalled to Shaun Wane's England squad. 

'Even though it is a lot bigger and a lot more modern than Goodison, you can feel the aspect of the fans being right on top of the pitch. I’m just excited to play.

'You know that the atmosphere is going to be one of the best that you’re going to be a part of in your career – that’s why you play the game, to test yourself against the best players in big environments.

'We’ve got to give it our best and hopefully we’re on the right side of the result and send all the people home happy.'