England Women's Rugby Players Receive Full-Time Contracts

England women's rugby players Katy Daley-Mclean, Sarah Hunter, Marlie Packer and Vicky Fleetwood "are among the 28 players to be awarded full-time contracts" for '19, according to the BBC. In September, the Rugby Football Union announced it would reintroduce contracts for 15-a-side players. In addition to the 28, "seven players are on elite player squad agreements." Those players will come into camps and England training, but not the full-time program. 2017 World Cup finalists Sarah Bern, Rachael Burford, Vickii Cornborough, Abbie Scott and Lydia Thompson have also received contracts, as have Natasha Hunt, Emily Scarratt and Jess Breach, who return to the 15s setup from the sevens program. Head coach Simon Middleton said, "I am confident that this group of players has the potential to grow into the world-class squad we will be looking to take to New Zealand in 2021." The squad met for the first time on Thursday at its new base, Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre (BBC, 1/3).