Victory over Ireland can seal £21million for RFU

England players will earn more than Irish opponents going for Grand Slam

The Rugby Football Union will collect a Natwest Six Nations windfall of around £21million – more than any other side – if they can prevent champions Ireland from completing a Grand Slam at Twickenham on Saturday and clinch second place in the championship, The Talk of Rugby can reveal.

England’s players are also expected to earn more than their Irish counterparts, even if Eddie Jones’s side are defeated and end up fifth place in the championship.

It is understood that Ireland’s players will share a Grand Slam jackpot of €2.3million (£2million) if they defeat England for what would be only their third clean sweep in the history of the championship.

Each player will earn up to a maximum of €100,000 (£88,500) each, depending on what type of contract they are on and their bonus structure, if they have been part of all five match-day squads. The figure will drop to a maximum of €85,000 (£75,000) each for winning the title without the Grand Slam.

In contrast the England squad are guaranteed to earn around £115,000 each, irrespective of where they finish, as they receive a total of £23,000 per match including match and training fees and image rights.

The RFU windfall is part of the complex payment structure to distribute the revenues generated by the Six Nations, which is thought to be around £105million.

Seventy-five per cent of the revenues are divided equally between the six unions – which this season should mean each is guaranteed a payment of around £13.1 million.

The 15 per cent is allocated for prize money, based on final Championship standings. Any team winning the Grand Slam will receive 5.5 per cent in prize money, equating to around £5.77 million, with second place due to receive 3.3 per cent (£3.47 million), third place 2.3 per cent (£2.42 million), fourth place 1.8 per cent (£1.89 million), fifth place 1.3 per cent (£1.36 million) and sixth place 0.8 per cent (£840,000).

If no team win the Grand Slam, the Six Nations champions will receive £4.73 million (4.5 per cent), with the payment for second place £3.68 million, third place £2.63 million, fourth place

£2.1 million, fifth place £1.58 million and sixth place £1.05million.

While the majority of the revenue is distributed equally, England and France are also guaranteed a ring-fenced payment of £4.2 million (four per cent of revenues) and £3.68 million (3.5 per cent) respectively because of the number of clubs in their respective unions.

The other four unions, Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Italy, will in contrast receive roughly £656,000 (0.625 per cent).

That means the maximum Ireland can receive will be around £19.55 million if they win the Grand Slam. An England victory on Saturday however would see that figure drop to £18.51 million – and see England’s total rise to

£21 million if they can also pip Wales to second place.