No pay rise plans after record RFU profit

English rugby, which today announced a profit of £18.4m (€26.2m) for the last financial year, has no immediate plans to reward the World Cup-winning players who have sparked an unprecedented boom in the game with a pay rise.

The players, who received up to £83,000 (€118,000) a man for lifting the William Webb Ellis trophy, are currently paid under an agreement with Premier Rugby Limited, signed in 2001.