Historic Birmingham firm restores Rugby League World Cup trophy to former glory
A Birmingham jeweller has helped restore the Rugby League World Cup trophy, which was lost for more than 20 years, to its former glory.
The cockerel, which adorned the top of the cup until it was damaged in 1968, has been recreated by the craftsmen at trophy makers Thomas Fattorini, based in the Jewellery Quarter.
The 191-year-old family run business also designed and created the Rugby League Challenge Cup and the FA Cup.
Forty-eight years after it was famously stolen, the trophy has now also been fitted with a GPS tracker to ensure it never goes missing again.
The original trophy was commissioned by French Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII president Paul Barrière to be used at the inaugural Rugby League World Cup in 1954 – 33 years before rugby union’s first world cup.
It was first won by Great Britain and was used in four tournaments, before being stolen while on display at a Bradford hotel during the competition in 1970. The trophy was found in 1990 in a ditch near a rugby club in Bingley, West Yorkshire.
Jon Dutton, chief executive of RLWC 2021, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to have worked with the team at Fattorini to return the Paul Barrière Cup to its full former glory incorporating the original design. As a Rugby League fan this is a very proud moment that we want people to share in and enjoy.
“However, we’re not taking any chances with the Cup and our new cockerel this time. We’ve incorporated a GPS tracker – a device they obviously didn’t have available to them in the 70s. We may never know where the World Cup went during its two missing decades, but we will always know where it is going forward.”
The 2021 World Cup is being held in England, with Coventry’s Ricoh Arena among the venues shortlisted to host matches for the men’s competition. For the first time, the men’s, women’s and wheelchair competitions will be staged alongside each other as part of one tournament.
