Premier 15s: RFU 'absolutely sure' female players will be paid at club level

Harlequins captain Rachael Burford and Saracens captain Charlotte Clapp pose with the Premier 15s trophy

With the first ever Premier 15s final approaching on Sunday, bosses of English rugby expect female players to be paid at club level in the future.

As Harlequins Ladies and Saracens Women prepare to face each other in the league's showpiece, the Rugby Football Union's women's head of performance Nicky Ponsford said that payments will happen "probably sooner rather than later".

"It is very much down for the clubs to drive that," she said.

RFU director of professional rugby Nigel Melville is "absolutely sure" payments are coming.

"It is just a matter of time," he added. "It might start with part-time and then go to full-time but we're on that path now."

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Melville also confirmed that the league's review process is under way, with one option on the table to increase the number of teams from 10 to 12.

The launch of the Premier 15s was a long overdue revamp of top-flight women's club rugby in England and securing a title sponsor in Tyrrells gave the league an identity.

The success of the new format can be seen in the numbers turning out to watch fixtures which were often ignored in the old league format. The regular season fixture between Harlequins Ladies and Richmond in March attracted a record crowd of 4,542.

A north-south divide?

The 10 teams that compete have all been assured of their places in the league for three seasons to help them adjust to the minimum standards expected by England Rugby bosses.

However, with two London clubs making it to the final, worries of a north-south divide opening up in the league have been noted.

Melville explained that part of the review process is currently looking at the reasons different areas of the country might be struggling more than others and they might consider drafting players to move talent around.

Some of the success of Quins and Sarries in the league's debut season has been attributed to their link-ups with men's Premiership sides but Melville can see a longer-term picture.

"Yes, there is a gap - but that gap can be closed," he said.

"They [Quins and Sarries] have got Premiership backing which has given them an advantage at this early stage, but the likes of Mowden Park Sharks, Loughborough and Waterloo have done a fantastic job of getting up to speed to compete next season."

'You don't want to be left behind'

Rugby was the first women's sport in the UK to steal the back and front pages when England won the Women's World Cup in 2014.

A real drive to improve the sport's participation numbers and pathway to the top flight led to the revamp of the league and Ponsford has worked closely with other leading women's team sports including football and netball to share best practice.

It means the subject of paying the players is one she will not to shy away from.

"When you look at the whole of women's sport, that's the direction things are moving and you don't want to be left behind," she said.

"We look at football, we look at netball and the way that their clubs are playing players to play."

Ponsford knows money paid to players would have to be carefully monitored.

"Financial trouble is the biggest concern that we have," she added. "We would never want to stop any player getting money, but we'll have to put protocols in place that allows clubs to be sustainable."