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The strange tale of the 1994 Women's World Cup...

Gill Burns with the 1994 World Cup

Being part of a team that loses a World Cup after taking part in a final is a tough experience for most players.

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But in the case of England’s Gill Burns it was a very different experience to that experienced by her male counterparts in 1991, 2007 and 2019.

And even more incredibly, over a generation later, a happy ending has emerged to this story.

The first thing that sets this story apart is that rather than suffering defeat in the 1994 final England’s women lifted the trophy thanks to a 38-23 win over the USA in Edinburgh.

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All Blacks react to USA win

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    All Blacks react to USA win

    As per the men’s 2003 win, the trophy then went out on tour and roadshows around the country where – even in those pre-smartphone days – it became an oft-photographed item.

    However, England then suffered the agony of losing the World Cup – in this case literally.

    The trophy, which had previously been in the care of the USA who were winners of the inaugural tournament in 1991, disappeared off the face of the earth and had to be replaced by a new version.

    But it has now been found in a box in an attic owned by the parents of an unnamed administrator attached to the English women’s game.

    Burns, who is one of the best-known names in English rugby after an international career spanning more than a decade, explained to ITV News how the discovery came about.

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    She said: “A few years after the tournament we started asking: ‘Does anyone know where the World Cup is?’

    “Then a few weeks ago one of the old administrators was clearing out her parents’ loft and found some old notebooks, handbooks and poster.

    “And behind them was a box containing the treasured World Cup.”

    The winning 1994 England team with the trophy
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    As one of the players who shared in England’s 1994 success, she described herself as “very emotional to find the trophy.”

    The trophy has been taken to Twickenham where it is being put on display by the World Rugby Museum.

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    EllenMoody 4 hours ago
    Great moments in Lions tour history – JPR’s drop goal and the All Blacks' brutal revenge

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    JWH 5 hours ago
    'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.'

    Do you hear yourself? Do you have any concept of world view? Have you tried looking into why people call Ireland ‘arrogant’? Obviously not.


    We started calling you arrogant when you called our captain a ‘shit Richie McCaw’. In New Zealand. On our turf. Don’t think that kind of behaviour really calls for respect, does it.


    NZ don’t really talk ourselves up, if anything the rugby does it for us. No kiwi goes in the media and says: ‘We are gonna win the RWC’. However, I have found many instance of IRISH media saying that the Irish should win, without a doubt. THAT is disrespectful.


    The All Blacks have played good rugby, even some of the best rugby ever, at many points in history, but I don’t think you could find a single instance of one of those players, or the NZ media, saying that they should whitewash their opponents. Ever.


    Now, onto your analysis. Ireland DID choke the QF. They beat the champions, they were ranked first coming into it, a lot of players at the peaks of their powers. Its hard to say that they didn’t choke. Obviously, their preparation was just not as good as NZ, and thats all there really is to it.


    If Ireland had repsected that ABs team and that QF more, maybe they would’ve prepared properly for it and won. But they didn’t.


    Maybe if Ireland had won their QF last RWC, they wouldn’t have to be in the same pool as SA and Scotland. I mean, its called a draw for a reason. NZ got third last RWC, so of course they should get a reasonable pool, and they were ranked pretty highly too. If you want to talk about easy pools, look no further than Pool 3 with England, Australia, Fiji, and Georgia I think?


    Now, obviously you don’t remember how that QF ended, so I’ll go ahead and rectify that. Ireland reclaimed the ball off kickoff and marched for 20ish phases into the opposition half. Savea then won a turnover, but the referee refused to give it, so play went on. Finally, at the NZ 22, after not giving up a single penatly in 25 phases of hard defense, Sam Whitelock, the most capped All Black of all time, wins the game with an incredible steal.


    Now, NZ players having a go at Ireland. Do you cry when you get hit after making the first swing? We all know Sexton is a prick on the field, its just the truth. And Ioane never backs down from a clash, so he thought he should humble a player who has never won an international knockout game who thought he was all that. Don’t really see the issue, its poetic justice really.

    83 Go to comments
    LONG READ
    LONG READ 'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.' 'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.'
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