Tuesday 18 September 2018 12:57, UK
World Cup winner Maggie Alphonsi says she is "over the moon" that the RFU have reintroduced full-time central contracts for England Women.
The governing body have made the decision to offer 28 contracts, plus seven elite player squad agreements, from January 1.
It comes after they decided not to renew the deals following the 2017 World Cup, in which England finished as runners-up.
Alphonsi, who was part of England's only World Cup winning side in 2014, welcomed the news, telling Sky Sports' Sportswomen: "I'm absolutely over the moon.
"I think it's really going to change the players. It's going to enable them to be the athlete they want to be - to train the way they want, to rest when they want.
"Their careers for the next few years will be stable. When you haven't got a contract, you're starting to think, 'what should my job be to allow me to be a rugby player?'
"Now they can focus on the next few years."
