Children get their hands on World Cup (From St Helens Star)

Children get their hands on World Cup

6:10pm Friday 26th October 2012 in News By Andrew Kilmurray, News editor

PUPILS got their hands on the Rugby League World Cup trophy as part of a celebration to mark a year until the tournament kicks off.

The 61cm-high, silver-plated cup spent two days in the town, touring schools before being positioned at Langtree Park, where Australia take on Fiji on November 2, 2013.

Among those to catch a glimpse of the trophy was Lansbury Bridge pupil Savanna Sexton (pictured).

The cup was commissioned by Paul Barrière, a former French Resistance fighter, for rugby league’s inaugural 1954 World Cup, and presented to the winning nation at the next four tournaments before being stolen from Bradford’s Midland Hotel, six days before the 1970 final.

Twenty years later the trophy, which originally cost eight million French Francs (about £500,000 today), was discovered in rubbish dumped in a ditch near the Bradford and Bingley rugby league club.

It was brought back into use for the 2000 World Cup and presented to the victorious Australian team.

RLWC 2013 tournament director, Nigel Wood said: “This magnificent trophy was one of the great Paul Barrière’s many gifts to our game, and deserves to be seen by as many people as possible.

“As part of our promotional plans for the tournament, the trophy will travel around the UK throughout the rest of 2012 and into next year – up to the first game at the Millennium Stadium on October 26, 2013.

“We’d like to thank reigning champions New Zealand for giving us the opportunity to take the trophy on the road.”