England's £400,000 slam prize

England's top rugby players will pocket £80,000 each if they end their losing run to win the Grand Slam this season.

Under a new package due to be signed today, England's World Cup winning squad will receive £7,500 a match - an increase of £1500 on last season - and will share a £400,000 prize pool if they become Grand Slam champions by remaining unbeaten in the five Championship matches next year.

Added to the equation are this month's three home matches with Canada, South Africa and Australia.

If England miss the Slam but still become Six Nations champions they will add just £6,000 to their match fee total of £60,000 for the eight internationals this season. The Slam win bonus pool is worth nearly £20,000 per player.

England may be world champions but their players are still paupers compared to football's biggest earners who can command more than £100,000 a week in wages.

The Rugby Football Union have cashed in on the World Cup success with increased earning and now boast more than £25million in the bank to fund wide-ranging projects, including putting a hotel in the new South Stand development which is going to raise the capacity to 82,000 by 2007.

The new deal takes into account the image-rights issue brought to the surface by the World Cup victory and now that this has been added to the equation the threat of any strike action over pay has been removed.

The new deal includes the 2007 World Cup defence in France. England have lost five of their last six matches and have lost key players due to retirement and injury, leaving new coach Andy Robinson with major problems going into the 13 November clash with Canada.

He must find a stand-in for first-choice captain Jonny Wilkinson who is sidelined by an arm injury.