England World Cup win shows how far women"s rugby union has come

Most of England’s world champions will return to work this week. Vets, policewomen, teachers et al, their bodies sapped of energy and heads still sore from celebrating, all go back to their day jobs after winning the World Cup for the first time in 20 years.

Many have been without pay for three months since linking up with Gary Street’s squad, the sole thought occupying their minds: to win the World Cup after three successive final defeats. On a memorable evening in Paris they did just that, overcoming Canada 21-9 despite a valiant comeback by their opponents, England’s heroines belying their status as amateur players to end a hoodoo that had threatened to overshadow each major campaign.

The team returned to Twickenham on Monday with the glow of victory undimmed beneath bleary eyes. Then the questions turned to the future and how much their success at Stade Jean-Bouin will enhance the sport’s growing status, in England and across the world.

For Street, the former quantity surveyor turned coach who drives up and down the country to visit each member of the team at work, England’s victory is certain to usher in a new era of professionalism. He confirmed that talks with the Rugby Football Union to establish such a change are ongoing, and recounted an anecdote that reflected how far the women’s game had progressed in recent years.

“A senior IRB official was very anti-women’s rugby when I met him 10 years ago,” said Street. “He called me up last night and was absolutely shocked, he said he had no comprehension that women’s rugby looked like that. He was so enthusiastic about how the game has moved on.

“From someone who thought women shouldn’t play rugby at all to then say he’d rather watch that than French club rugby shows how far we’ve come. He genuinely said that, he wasn’t saying it to butter me up. He’s been very clear in the past that he thought women’s rugby was a nonsense and shouldn’t be played.”

That view seems so obsolescent now as to be laughable. Street concedes that 10 years ago there were not so many strong teams and that, in particular, the standard of kicking was poor. However, the 2014 World Cup demonstrated how much the quality had improved, during a tournament that the French embraced and which drew impressive TV audiences.

England lift Women’s Rugby World Cup

For England, there were many individual stories that captured the spirit of their success. The captain, Katy McLean – a teacher by trade – received an email at the weekend inquiring whether she would be available for a work meeting at 10am on Monday. “I thought I might be a little busy,” she said with a grin on Monday, sitting beside a gleaming trophy.

Then there is Maggie Alphonsi, the 30-year-old flanker who received an MBE in 2012 for services to rugby. Born with a club foot, “the machine” was a woman possessed against Canada, hurling herself into tackles, driven on by the heartache of previous final defeats.

Alphonsi was one of 11 starters on Sunday evening who still bore scars from four years ago. Those scars can finally begin to heal, as a bright future beckons for women’s rugby. “This hopefully will increase participation, so lots of young girls out there will want to get involved in the sport,” said Alphonsi. “I think it’s going to grow attention. When I started at 13 there were girls playing but not many of them. I’ve been very fortunate to have been part of the growth and it’s only going to get bigger.”

England received supportive messages and congratulations from David Cameron, the prime minister, Jonny Wilkinson and Prince Harry over the weekend, while hundreds of fans descended from a supporter bus singing “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” in front of the team on Sunday night. It said a lot, though, that rather than recruit a high-profile external figure to present team members with their shirts on Saturday, McLean insisted to Street that they kept things to themselves.

This is a very tight-knit group and McLean said their victory was the result of 20 years work, from everyone involved throughout that period when crowds were sparse and exposure non-existent.

Of his team’s performance, Street said: “Most employers don’t legislate that you can go away for 107 days. Some did, but some girls had to give their jobs up. That’s amazing really, that some people have given up their careers. This is how it has always been for us.

“The game has to grow. Sponsors and commercial partners would be crazy not to jump on the back of that. I think if you’re a rugby fan in England you know who Maggie Alphonsi, Emily Scarratt and Katy McLean are. You don’t have to be a women’s rugby fan to know that they are some of the best players in the world, regardless of gender. That is what has changed.”

England World Cup win shows how far women"s rugby union has come