RUGBY league is to get access to an additional £4.7million of government loan support than previously announced.

The sport's UK governing body, the Rugby Football League, received £16million in government loans due to the coronavirus pandemic last May.

It was then announced in November that a further £12million had been made available as part of the sports winter survival package.

This figure has now been revised, with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport confirming the top-up loan sum to be £16.7million.

In addition to that, a grant of £1.45million has also been made for community clubs, including the women's game, plus £300,000 of grassroots financial support through the Sport England Tackling Inequalities Fund.

RFL chief executive Ralph Rimmer said: "The Government have been fantastically supportive towards this sport. We have accessed support at many different levels for all the tiers of rugby league."