Welsh women's rugby team make history with first professional players

Wales' first 12 female professional rugby players were unveiled at the Principality Stadium

The Welsh women's rugby team have made history with their first ever professional players.

The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) awarded 12 full time professional contracts to players, including captain Siwan Lillicrap, Jasmine Joyce, Carys Phillips and Elinor Snowsill.

It means that the women can now concentrate on rugby as their full-time jobs, whereas previously they had to have other jobs to support their rugby career.

Lillicrap said: "This is going to change us, our lives and Welsh women's rugby for this next 12 months and beyond. We are all so excited to start and that just shows what it means to us and for Welsh rugby, it's massive."

The move came after 123 former international players signed a petition in September last year, calling for the WRU to take action on the issue.

The Union have not said how much the contracts are worth, but they are said to include match and training fees.

WRU chief executive Steve Phillips said: "This is a very proud day for us as a governing body.

"This is set to be a very demanding but unforgettable year for women's rugby and these players - along with the players on retainer contracts and other squad members - will benefit from the full range of our expert on and off-field support to help them reach their potential."

15 semi-professional (or retainer) contracts have also been given to players in the squad.

Welsh Captain Siwan Lillicrap was one of 12 players awarded a full-time contract

Are there pro women's rugby players in the rest of the UK?

England's women's rugby team were the first in the world to go fully pro.

They used to operate on temporary contracts, but were awarded 28 full-time professional ones in January 2019.

Jade Konkel became Scotland's first full-time pro women's rugby player in 2016.

They have more professional players now, but they haven't yet made the whole team pro.

Northern Ireland doesn't have its own women's rugby team - the Irish side covers the whole island of Ireland.