The national body added: “Scottish Rugby has committed to providing confirmation of what the high-performance programme will look like by the end of June, at which time the players will be advised of the next steps in the contracting process, with individual meetings scheduled, and contracts concluded, in July ahead of the Rugby World Cup.”
In 2022, Scottish Rugby announced, external that 28 players would be offered professional contracts.
It remains unclear how many players beyond the 15 already on 12-month contracts will be offered new deals.
Most of the Scotland training squad also have contracts with their club sides, the majority of which are PWR sides in England.
Although that league does pay its players, it is not a fully professional league and most players combine playing with jobs or education.
If some Scotland players are not offered contracts beyond October, the source claims they will be left “job hunting or doing interviews during pre-season and during the World Cup”.
A group of players are understood to have approached the Women’s Rugby Association (WRA) for advice. The WRA supported the Wales Women in 2024 following a long-running contract dispute with the Welsh Rugby Union.
When approached by the BBC, the WRA was unable to confirm its position on representing the Scotland Women.
The Scotland women do have some representation from the Rugby Players Scotland union, but a spokesperson confirmed that it only involves matters in the “collective interest” – for instance, agreeing a maternity policy for players. This does not currently include any individual contract negotiations.
Rugby Players Scotland told BBC Sport: “Rugby Players Scotland are working with our members to develop the collective interests of professional women’s rugby in Scotland in collaboration with Scottish Rugby.”
Scotland’s women are in pre-season training ahead of the Rugby World Cup in England. They play Wales in Manchester, in their opening Pool B game, on Saturday, 23 August.
