Red Roses stars in line for £100k to retain World Cup

The Red Roses' top stars stand to earn £100,000 with England in 2029 should they successfully defend their Women's Rugby World Cup title in Australia as part of a new four-year pay agreement with the Rugby Football Union. Overall, it is understood the players have negotiated a 25% increase on their previous terms that will expire at the end of June. In addition to lifting the World Cup in front of a sell-out 81,885 crowd in September, England have won eight successive Six Nations titles and are on a run of 38 successive Test victories. While the new deal is a substantial raise, they still earn less than their footballing and cricketing counterparts. Deals for England's women's cricketers reportedly vary between £90,000 and £130,000 a year, , external while the Lionesses reached an agreement on bonuses with the Football Association in 2023 after a public dispute. , external England's players picked up a bonus of £20,000 each for winning the Women's Rugby World Cup in September, with their top stars on a basic of about £50,000 a year at the time. The RFU, which has ploughed £24m into the top-tier Premiership Women's Rugby over the past decade, has committed to a formal review of the new contracts after two years to ensure figures rise "if commercial performance of the women's game materially exceeds expectations". The new deals will be sorted into three different bands, with the most senior and pivotal players earning most. …