The contracts are being given to members of the England Women’s Sevens squad
but they also play international XVs and Premiership rugby.
Twelve of the women involved in the successful Rugby World Cup squad,
including captain Katy Mclean, are among the women to be given contracts,
which will start next month. They are all now expected to give up their day
jobs.
England’s captain Katy McLean, holds the trophy as she celebrates with
her teammates (AP)
Miss Mclean, 28, a primary school teacher, said: “This is fantastic news for
the sport and exactly what we need as an England squad to continue to be at
the top of our sport on a global scale.
“I am extremely excited about this new challenge and where this full time
programme can take us as an England team.â€
The announcement comes as the women prepare to compete on the IRB Sevens World
Series circuit and as they seek qualification as Great Britain for the 2016
Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
The contracts will allow the players to train five days a week throughout the
season at Twickenham Stadium and at Surrey Sports Park in Guildford where
they will receive strength and conditioning, medical, nutritional, lifestyle
and psychological support.
The programme will be run by the RFU’s Head of Women’s Performance Nicola
Ponsford and England Women’s Sevens Head Coach Simon Middleton, who was part
of the Rugby World Cup winning coaching team.
Danielle Waterman scores a try during the World Cup final (AP)
Players will be awarded the central contracts on a yearly basis.
Miss Ponsford said: “We are delighted to be able to offer a full time Sevens
programme for next season. We are really excited by the opportunity and feel
that this will enable us to compete on a global level.
“The inclusion of Sevens in the Olympics has meant that a significant number
of sides we are competing against have been full time for a year or more.
“We have been planning to do this for some time but we needed to make
sure that we could focus on the XVs Rugby World Cup whilst also ensuring we
had the building blocks in place to guarantee that a fulltime programme is
effective.”
She added: “With two years to go until the 2016 Olympics Games we felt
this was the right time to move forward.â€
The amount the women will receive has not been disclosed.
Netherlands were the first country to award professional contracts to their
female Sevens players. Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa,
Canada, the United States, Russia and Spain have since followed suit.
Marlie Packer is tackled during the World Cup Final (Getty Images)
Rugby has become increasingly popular for girls and women in recent years.
The game is on the national curriculum, meaning boys and girls alike receive
six weeks’ compulsory tuition.
The rugby players will join women’s footballers, hockey and cricket players
who are already paid.
However their remuneration is a world away from the wages commanded by their
male counterparts.
Last year, the England women’s football team secured a £4,000 pay increase
following successful negotiations with the Football Association, taking
their contacts to £20,000 a year.
In contrast, Italian striker Mario Balotelli is set to join Liverpool FC on a
contract reportedly worth £90,000 a week.
England were crowned the winners of the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2014 after
defeating Canada 21-9 in Paris, their first world victory since 1994.
The women receiving the contracts are:
Claire Allan, 29
A Police Officer with the Metropolitan Police, Claire started playing rugby
when she was 13 and plays both centre and full back.
Natasha Brennan, 27
Natasha represented England at hockey before she started playing rugby at the
age of 22, while studying for a BA in English and American Literature at
University of Kent. She works for a recruitment consultants in Wimbledon,
London. Plays full back and wing.
Rachael Burford, 28
Rachael started playing rugby when she was six, later joining Medway RFC in
Kent, the same team as her mother, Renata, who is Polish, and her sister,
Louise. The centre is currently studying counselling at Medway College.
Abigail Chamberlain, 29
The centre started playing rugby at Loughborough University when she was 21.
She is a lecturer in sport and public services at West Thames College in
Isleworth, London, having completed a degree in Sports Coaching Science and
Physical Education at Worcester University.
Heather Fisher, 30
Heather, who suffers from severe alopecia, has previously represented Great
Britain in bobsleigh – competing in the Junior World Championships. Outside
of rugby, she runs her own gym.
Francesca Matthews, 25
A former lifeguard she now worked as a gardener in and a fitness instructor at
Surrey Sports Park in Guildford. Her sister Alex is also in the England
rugby squad.
Sarah McKenna, 25
Fly half and centre, she started playing rugby when she was six. She is
currently studying construction management at Bedfordshire University and
enjoys DJing in her spare time.
Katy Mclean, 28
Captain of the World Cup winning side, she was made an MBE in this year’s New
Year’s Honours List for services to rugby. The fly half is a primary school
teacher at the Bexhill Academy in Sunderland, where she teaches four and
five year-olds.
Marlie Packer, 24
The flanker works as a plumbing and heating engineer for Homeserve in South
West London. She started playing rugby when she was five.
Emily Scarratt, 24
Emily Scarratt runs to score a try during the final match of the Women’s
Rugby World Cup (AP)
Plays centre and full back, she was offered a scholarship to play basketball
in America when she was 16 but turned it down, choosing to play rugby
instead.
Michaela Staniford, 27
Was the youngest player to play for England in 2005, when she was 17. She
worked as a PE teacher, having completed a master’s degree in education at
the University of Hertfordshire.
Danielle Waterman, 29
Her father Jim, played more than 400 times for Bath. She is currently studying
part-time at the University of Gloucestershire. She left her job at a
college in November last year to focus on her training in the build-up to
the World Cup.
Joanne Watmore, 27
Works as an accounts clerk at her father’s gardening company in Cheshire. She
studied for a BTEC National Diploma in sport and exercise science at East
Durham and Houghall College before taking a one-year business course at
Leeds Metropolitan University.
Amy Wilson-Hardy, 22
The centre from Poole in Dorset is currently four years into a five-year
degree in integrated mechanical and electrical engineering at the University
of Bath.
Natasha Hunt, 25
The scrum half was a PE teacher at Sir Graham Balfour School in Stafford. Her
grandfather introduced her to rugby, and used to teach her to kick.
Alexandra Matthews, 21
The younger sister of Fran Matthews, she has recently completed a degree in
sports psychology at Roehampton University.
Katherine Merchant, 28
The winger is also a keen bass guitar player. She worked as a rugby coach at
Chesham RFC and Bucks New University, as well as a personal trainer.
Leanne Riley, 21
A versatile player who plays scrum half and wing, she started playing rugby at
Park Hill Primary school in Coventry when she was 10. She has been working
in a gym.
Emily Scott, 22
Fly half. She is studying sports science at Brunel University.
Kay Wilson, 22
The winger is in her final year at Cardiff Metropolotain University studying
Sports Development.
England Women"s Rugby World Cup winners to be paid to play, RFU announces
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