Thursday 21 July 2016 16:27, UK
The Rugby Football Union has announced that professional contracts are going to be introduced in women's rugby for the 15-a-side game.
Ahead of England's World Cup defence in 2017, a total of 48 contracts will be available next season, including 16 full-time deals for 15-a-side players.
England Women first awarded contracts in October 2014, when 20 were given to sevens players only.
The new arrangement will feature the 16 full-time deals, and also 16 part-time, three-day-a-week contracts with a sevens focus, plus an additional 16 short-term deals that will allow players to attend residential camps ahead of major tournaments such as the World Cup and Six Nations.
Rugby Football Union chief executive Ian Ritchie, said: "The RFU is committed to supporting the growth of women's rugby.
"We are immensely proud of England Women's achievements, and we want to provide the best support to continue this success.
"More women and girls in this country are playing rugby than ever before, and England Women are important role models to encourage more people to try our sport."
The recipients of the full-time contracts will be announced in September, when the deals will come into effect.
RFU head of women's performance Nicky Ponsford said: "This is a really exciting time for women's rugby in England.
"We will have more contracted players than ever before, to give us the best possible chance of retaining the World Cup in Ireland next August.
"We also recognise that the sevens' programme is important again next year, with the World Sevens series and qualification for Rugby World Cup Sevens in 2018.
"The girls have proven that they are among the best in the world, delivering consistent results across both the sevens and 15s games already this year, and we want to focus on building on that."
