Black Ferns on stage at Te Komititanga Square in Auckland to thank fans after their World Cup final win. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The Black Ferns players will each receive a $25,000 bonus payment following their victory in the women's Rugby World Cup final last week.
New Zealand Rugby said in a statement to RNZ on Friday that it had worked with sponsors to create a bonus pool of almost one million dollars.
It said bonuses were not included in the Black Ferns' contracts but considered the payments appropriate given the scale of the teams' success, culminating in an upset of England in the final at Eden Park.
"New Zealand Rugby, with generous contributions from key partners Sky, Adidas and ASB, have created a bonus pool of almost $1m to acknowledge the incredible success of the Black Ferns team and management at the Rugby World Cup," NZ Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson said in the statement.
"Each member of the Rugby World Cup winning Black Ferns squad will receive a bonus payment of $25,000.
"While bonuses were not built into Black Ferns contracts, NZR considers that they are appropriate given the scale of the Black Ferns' RWC campaign.
"Accordingly, as we have done previously in respect of All Blacks RWC bonus payments, we have worked with commercial partners to create a pool that rewards the players for their historic and special performance."
The Black Ferns drew a full house of 42,000 fans to the final at Eden Park on Saturday, which they won 34-31.
A New Zealand audience of more than one million people are reported to have watched the final, although World Rugby confirmed the tournament made a substantial financial loss.
- RNZ