Zoeis thrilled with England rugby contract

Scarborough-born Zoe Aldcroft has expressed her delight after being awarded a full-time contract by the RFU. The 35-player squad includes 28 full-time professionals, the first contracts to be awarded to women in the 15s game by England.

Aldcroft (pictured left) told

The Scarborough News :“I was delighted to hear the news, it’s great that women’s rugby is now professional, it will give us the chance to train full-time and get the rest and recovery that is just as important.

“I was a bit nervous about whether I would get one or not, you never really know what could happen as there’s always other people fighting for the contract as well, so I was very relieved when I found out I had one.

“Having full-time contracts will help massively as it will allow us to progress as individuals and as a team.

“It gives us the time to train in our own time and also rest and recover as well instead of studying or working alongside it.

“It’s a really big step for women’s rugby in England.”

Aldcroft has already reported for England duty ahead of the 2019 Women’s Six Nations, which kicks off against Ireland in Dublin in February and England coach Simon Middleton is excited at the potential of his squad.

“I am confident that this group of players have the po- tential to grow into the worldclass squad we will be looking to take to New Zealand in 2021,” said Middleton.

“Congratulations to all those selected, every player has worked hard to rightly earn their place.

“As a player and management group, our focus is very much on the Six Nations and the continued development of what is a still a very new squad of players.

“The introduction of full-time contracts will take time to embed but will help us to accelerate the development process.

“This is a huge opportunity and we recognise the expectation that comes with the investment. It’s down to us as a management and playing group to meet those expectations.”