Thursday 17 October 2019 16:29, UK
Phil Smith is constantly amazed by the knowledge and passion for rugby league in whichever outpost of the sport he finds himself in.
A long-serving member of the St Helens Rugby League Referees Society, Smith combines his full-time job with a voluntary role helping to develop match officials with the Rugby League Europe Federation.
His most recent adventure took him to Nigeria for the Middle East Africa (MEA) Championship, where he officiated two games and put on a level one course for 19 prospective referees from eight African nations.
The 13-a-side code is still very much a developing sport in the continent, but the passion among the participants burns brightly.
"It never fails to surprise you when you get over there, how much background knowledge they have," Smith, who took donated match officials kits to hand out to those on the course as well, told Sky Sports.
"Putting on a course it's information they're not used to, but when they understand the basics of the game and how to restart play it amazes you.
"They don't get Sky Sports (to watch rugby league), so any information they get they have to search for, so it's really enlightening.
"Rugby league is a passionate sport and wherever you go in the world, they've got the same passion and interest as over here. It's really inspiring."
The MEA Championship itself featured four teams, with hosts Nigeria defeating Morocco 38-10 in the final and Ghana taking third place with a 10-4 victory over Cameroon in the third-place play-off.
Smith refereed the opening match of the tournament between the hosts and Ghana and the third-place match, while Frenchman Kevin de la Rose was in the middle for the other games at Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos.
The lengths the Cameroonian players went to in particular to be involved was jaw-dropping, with the squad making a four-day trip by minibus which saw them survive attempted robbery, unsanctioned payments being taken from them at unofficial checkpoints and even being arrested at one point.
At the end of it all, they jumped back on the bus to make the return journey by the same route, contacting an astounded Smith to let him know they had made it home safely.
"We had an after-party for the four teams and we waved them off at midnight in this rickety old bus which would never pass an MOT in England, and I got a message 4am Wednesday saying they'd arrived home," Smith said.
"That dedication is unreal. We moan about the M62 on a Friday night, but that is unbelievable.
"Wherever you go doing this job and whatever problems you face, it's always the players who bring it back down."
The RLEF and Smith will continue to monitor the progress of those who took the first steps on their officiating journey after attending the course, providing further education to help them keep developing.
The potential on the playing side did not go unnoticed by Smith either, who was taken aback with both the style adopted by the teams and the physicality.
"The play was brutal," Smith said. "It wasn't dirty, but it was physical and it was an unreal atmosphere because the game was so different to what you would referee in England.
"It was hard, fast and unrelenting, really - absolutely brilliant. And the potential that is there, I don't understand visas or know if we could get some of them over here to a club for six months, but that's what they need.
"It's an exciting future for those players. Rugby league isn't a sport which is awash with money, but with the right people behind it this has got potential.
"If, in 10 years' time, we can look back on this and there are thousands watching then it will be a massive achievement."
