England rugby World Cup winner Gill Burns was blown away after watching Chester Devas get the better of Eccles as part of the Love Rugby festival.

As part of England Rugby’s Play Together Stay Together scheme, Burns was in attendance for the encounter, which brought down the curtain on a thrilling celebration of women and girls’ rugby that started at 9am with an under 8s match.

Following a succession of age group encounters, the main event was won by Chester, who showed their class in running out 56-5 victors.

And Burns, who was part of the England side that won the World Cup in 1994 and captained her country for five years, absolutely loved the occasion.

She said: “It’s been a great day. Seeing the two teams having a picture under the posts, you can see it’s been a lovely day. Even the team who have been beaten a full of smiles.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for everyone who has been involved, from the little kids who were running around in the morning, through the age groups. They are going to have links to footage of the day which is really special. They can share it with their friends, family and beyond. I think so many people are going to be able to see it that it will help to grow the game. Let’s hope it is a boost for everybody.”

On the field, Chester were outstanding, with no one more impressive than their winger Ella Wylie.

The youngster, who only joined the club last season, helped herself to four tries in front of a huge amount of family support.

And she was understandably thrilled at her performance.

She said: “I’m very proud. We’ve worked really hard this season and we’ve done much better than I thought we would, if I’m honest.

“My aunties, my uncles, my cousins, my nan, my great uncle and my mum and my little sister are all here.

“I really enjoy it here, we have so many pitches, we get good opportunities here so I’m loving it.”

For her part, Burns was delighted to see how much interest there was in the day.

The former No.8 has done as much as anyone to promote the women’s game across the world, both as a player and since hanging up her boots.

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That work was recognised last year when she was invited by the RFU to speak to the Red Roses before their Grand Slam clash with France at Twickenham in front of a world record crowd.

And after seeing the excitement shown, she believes the only way is up.

She added: “It’s an absolute pleasure, I was involved very intensely with England rugby for many years. First as a player and then I was the president of the women’s union.

“So I stayed in touch but the fact that we are talking about the history, the people that have played before and I have been asked to come back in and be part of all this is a tremendous privilege and it’s really nice to come and see other women enjoying the game.

“The sport needs to keep growing and keep sharing. Days like this, it gives people around the world to see the women’s game, see it at community level and make it accessible to keep spreading the good news.”

Play Together Stay Together is an England Rugby campaign to encourage people to get back into rugby. Want to get back to the action? Find your local rugby club using findrugby.com