The England women’s captain, Sarah Hunter, believes the decision of Twickenham to offer 28 full-time contracts from the beginning of next year is “hugely significant” and will encourage more to take up the sport.
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Apart from a nine-month period before the 2017 World Cup, England internationals have had to juggle their rugby commitments with work, but the new contracts will allow them to focus solely on the sport as the Rugby Football Union follows France, New Zealand and Australia in funding full‑time players.
“It is a hugely significant day for the women’s game,” said Hunter, who led England to the World Cup final last year after a Six Nations grand slam. “Young girls can now aspire to making a living out of playing 15-a-side rugby rather than have the stress of finding a job that you are able to fit around the game.
“One of the big things about being full-time before the 2017 World Cup was that it allowed you proper rest periods so that you were fresh in training sessions. This is a hugely exciting time for women’s rugby in England and I just hope I am offered a contract. It will increase standards and bring players closer together because we will be working with each other more often.”
The RFU, which ended months of speculation this week when its board agreed to fund the move which will see the 28 full-timers supplemented by seven players on England player squad deals, will start speaking to players in the coming days.
“The contracts will start at the beginning of January,” said Nicky Ponsford, the RFU’s head of performance. “Some players will be happy to go full-time straight away while others, who have education courses to complete, may prefer to wait.”
Part of the reason for the RFU’s delay in offering the contracts was the financial review being conducted at Twickenham. Its chief executive, Stephen Brown, denied a report that some players had threatened to go on strike if they remained part-time.
“No threat was ever made to us about strikes,” Brown said. “I concede it has been a bumpy ride to get to this stage but it is a milestone moment for the RFU, the first time we have centrally contracted 15-a-side players in the women’s game, and the funding is ringfenced. We believe it will have an impact on the game as a whole as well as proving a way to win the 2021 World Cup.
“It is a tipping point that will help us drive growth at every level of the sport and achieve our aim of becoming number one in the world. It took a bit of time but it shows our ambition and the belief we have in the future of the women’s game.”
The RFU plans to double the number of women players by 2021 by establishing hundreds of new teams, increasing the number of active clubs to more than 400 and getting more involved as referees, coaches and volunteers.
The senior squad will be based at Bisham Abbey national sports centre from this month, to prepare for the November series of internationals and the Six Nations, as well as for training camps during the off-season. For the rest of the time, the players will be with their clubs.
“We want to lead the way in driving standards in women’s rugby through everything we do,” said the RFU’s director of professional rugby, Nigel Melville. “Full-time contracts are a big step in ensuring we have the access to players to develop them and fulfil their potential. In Bisham Abbey, we have a world-class training facility.”