1
{{item.n}}
Come Back Queen Abi Burton: 'I knew in my heart that I’d get here at some point'
By Joe Harvey
When the last Women’s Rugby World Cup was happening, Abi Burton had only just begun to walk again.
ADVERTISEMENT
Three years down the line the Trailfinders Women back-row has been named in John Mitchell’s 32-player squad for a home World Cup, and will make her first start for the Red Roses on Saturday when they take on Spain at Mattioli Woods Welford Road in the first of their World Cup warm-up matches.
Just three years ago Burton had been placed in a coma to fight a rare brain illness. Two years later she competed at a second Olympic Games and is now very much planning on lifting the newly fired World Cup trophy at Allianz Stadium on Saturday 27th September.
With less than a month to go until the tournament gets underway, the 25-year-old beamed from ear to ear alongside her international teammates as preparations to take on the world hit a previously unseen intensity.
“Whirlwind is the word I would use,” smiled Burton. “Over the past couple of months, I have gone from making my debut and now being a part of my first ever World Cup squad.
“It’s just super cool to be surrounded by such an amazing group of women that I’ve either played with or looked up to watching the World Cup.”
A misdiagnosis of autoimmune NMDA receptor encephalitis diagnosis led to her being sectioned as her condition led to seizures and violent outbursts.
ADVERTISEMENT
Eventually diagnosed and sent to hospital in Wakefield, her parents made the decision to place Burton into a coma to receive plasma exchanges that would filter out the harmful antibodies that were attacking her brain.
In that come for four weeks Burton had pneumonia twice, missed a home Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and lost 20 kilograms.
The rehabilitation was extensive. Not only did Burton have to learn how to walk again, but she also had to re-learn how to talk too.
After she opened up publicly about her ordeal, Burton was named winner of the Blyth Spirit award by the Rugby Players Association alongside Ed Slater and described the recognition as the ‘proudest recognitions’ she had received in her five years of professional rugby up to that point.
ADVERTISEMENT
Her efforts were also solely centred on a return to play at the top level again. It was the only thing that mattered for a player that turned professional at almost the same moment she turned 18.
She battled hard to get back on the HSBC World Sevens Series for Great Britain and helped the side finish seventh at the 2024 Olympic Games before she joined Trailfinders Women last summer in the aim of furthering her 15s career.
It would come as no surprise if Burton ever questioned if she could take a place at the top table again. Never mind play for her country in the 15-a-side game.
“I always thought I would get here at some point,” Burton said. “I didn’t know how long it would take me to break into the squad, especially after my illness. You’ve got to back yourself at some point.
“I’m really lucky that I’ve been to two Olympics. I’ve been on the World Series since I was 18 years old and the confidence in those experiences has helped me throughout my journey.
“When I got the opportunity to come into the Red Roses, I already felt like I was meant to be there. I knew in my heart that I’d get here at some point. It was just when that was happening. I’m very lucky to be able to do it in a World Cup.”
Even in the plush surroundings of an Allianz Stadium, Burton thought of her parents. She comes from a tightly knit West Yorkshire family. Her brothers, Joe and Oli, both play professional rugby league, and it was her parents, Danny and Sarah, who made decisions about their daughter’s health when she was unable to.
They may even be the proudest family sat on the sidelines at the Stadium of Light when England host the USA on Friday 22nd August in the World Cup opener.
“Mum and dad are super proud,” Burton said. “They’re proud of anything that I do now.
“I know it sounds really cliché, but mum and dad are more proud that I finished university after my illness more than me making a World Cup.
“They’re super proud and always will be, but they don’t base their proudness on how far I get in rugby.
“They’re just happy that I’m alive and I’m functioning well and can live on my own.”
England face Spain on Saturday 2nd August at 15:00 in their first World Cup warm-up match. Watch the game live and for free on RugbyPass TV (outside of the UK and Ireland). Download the app here.
We've ranked the best women's rugby players in the world, from 50 - 1! View the Top 50 now