THIS is the moment when Grubber the Rugby League World Cup bear met his maker.

Grubber and his friend Steed the Rugby ball are the official mascots of the Rugby League World Cup, which begins in October.

And Bolton School student, Luke James, aged 12, is one of three youngsters behind the design of the mascot after entering a competition last year involving more than 1,000 entries from schoolchildren in England and France.

Luke, who lives in Adlington but is originally from Warrington, said he was thrilled to finally meet Grubber and was very pleased with his creation: “It looks great — he is really big. I designed the bear and the shirt and I’m really happy with them.

“I entered the competition after my mum saw it on the internet. I couldn’t believe it when I found out I had won — I have never been so excited.”

And Luke has even more reason to be excited, because his prize also includes tickets to two matches during the tournament, and he and the two other young designers will get to lead the teams out at the final at Old Trafford on November 30.

He said: “I would like to see Australia in action, and England of course, and I hope to see a game at Warrington’s stadium as I am a big fan of the Warrington Wolves.”

Grubber and Steed have been touring Bolton to help promote the tournament and they even popped into The Bolton News office to say hello.

The mascots also met with pupils at the infant school as part of the Try Reading project, which has been set up by members of the Society of Chief Librarians and is hoping to get kids into reading as well as sport.

Joining them was Ryan Brierley, from Westhoughton, who plays for Leigh Centurions.

“I think it’s important to send the message out that although sport is good for kids, you can’t beat education and the importance of school,” said the 21-year-old scrum half.

He added: “It is a huge year for the sport. Often Rugby Union gets a lot more exposure so we need to really make people aware of this tournament.”

The Rugby League World Cup, which will be held at venues across England and France, begins on October 26.