England women get chance to go pro

England’s women rugby stars, who defeated Ireland en route to the World Cup title this month, will be handed the chance to turn professional for the first time next month, the Rugby Football Union has announced.

The RFU will issue 20 central contracts to form a fully professional England Women’s Sevens squad for the forthcoming season, building up to the short-format discipline’s debut Olympic inclusion at Rio 2016.

England’s amateurs won the Women’s Rugby World Cup for the second time earlier this month, beating Canada 21-9 in Paris, leading to calls for the RFU to set up a professional arm.