England’s female rugby team has won the World Cup for the first time since 1994.
Massive congratulations are in order for the England women’s rugby team, which has won the World Cup for the first time since 1994.
But, although they've just taken home the trophy for being the best rugby team in the world after beating Canada in the final, we were more than a little surprised to hear the women are back behind their desks today because they don’t get paid to play.
'Everyone is in the same boat in taking a career break to play in the World Cup,' England player Jo McGilchrist told The Guardian.
McGilchrist, who is a physiotherapist in London chose to sacrifice twelve weeks’ pay so she could train for the World Cup. Even their full-time coach, Gary Street, left a high-paying job to earn £10,000 a year when he first started coaching the girls in 2001. Women’s rugby isn’t considered professional, which means these women are purely playing for the love of the sport.
It seems a little unfair, considering the England men's team will get paid £15,000 per match in the 2015 Rugby World Cup, but team captain Katy Mclean says the women's league has a way to go before they can be considered professional.
‘We’re still amateurs, I teach full-time, and then we train. Obviously we’d all love to be professional, it would make our lives so much easier. But it’s got to be right for the sport. Would I say our leagues are good enough to make all clubs professional? Right now, no. It’s a big challenge.’
Perhaps this massive win will bring them one step closer.