THE red, amber and black of one of St Helens’ proudest community sports teams will mix with the Green and Gold of Australia when the players march out at Old Trafford for the Rugby League World Cup Final tomorrow.

Pilkington Recs under 8s have been chosen as mascots for the Kangaroos in their clash with cup holders New Zealand on Saturday.

They will walk out beside the likes of Aussie superstar Greg Inglis in front of more than 70,000 supporters and a global television audience.

Jackie Cunningham, of Newton-le-Willows, whose great nephew Joshua Burton plays for the Ruskin Drive-based team, helped organise the once-in-a-lifetime moment.

She said: “The boys are so excited – I think they are all dreaming of which player they’ll be walking out with. Billy Slater and Greg Inglis are the obvious favourites.

“There’ll be lots of families watching in the crowds who’ll be very excited.”

Junior coaches Chris Bailey and Graham Cranney are said to be thrilled by the selection of their team, which was given a good luck message from Premier Sports commentator Andrew Voss on Twitter last night.