Maggie Alphonsi

Margaret Alphonsi MBE (born 20 December 1983) is an English former rugby union player who played as a flanker for Saracens W.R.F.C. and England before retiring in 2014.[1] She was Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year in 2010, and was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame in November 2016 during the opening ceremonies for the Hall's first physical location in Rugby, Warwickshire.[2]

Maggie Alphonsi
Date of birth (1983-12-20) 20 December 1983
Place of birthLewisham, south London, England
Height1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)
Weight73 kg (161 lb; 11 st 7 lb)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
- Saracens - (-)
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2003-2014  England 74 (140)

Life

Alphonsi was born in Lewisham, south London to Nigerian parents, and was born with club foot,[3] which she had to overcome in order to play rugby.

Alphonsi was named to the 2014 World Cup 2014 World Cup Dream Team.[4] She retired shortly after England won the 2014 World Cup in France and now continues to coach and promote female participation and coaching in sport.

She was a Rugby World Cup 2015 Ambassador and is an ambassador of several not-for-profits and charities including Peace One Day, Wooden Spoon, Sporting Equals and SKRUM which aims to give the youth of Africa hope for the future through rugby.

Alphonsi with the ball during the England v Italy match in the RBS Women's 6 nations

She has played in two Rugby World Cups and in 2012 shared in a record seventh successive Six Nations title and a sixth Grand Slam in seven years. She won the Pat Marshall award from the Rugby Union Writers’ Club, where she pipped New Zealand captain, Richie McCaw, to become the first woman to claim the prize in its 50-year history. She joined Gareth Malone and other celebrities in making the 2014 Children in Need official single.

Alphonsi attempted to qualify to compete in the 2016 Rio Olympics in the shot put.[3]

In 2019, Alphonsi was on the voting panel for the World Rugby Men's 15 Player of the Year award, the World Rugby Team of the Year award, and World Rugby Coach of the Year award.[5]

References
  1. "Margaret Alphonsi - Official RFU England Profile". rfu.com. Archived from the original on 2014-07-10. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
  2. "World Rugby Hall of Fame: Jonny Wilkinson attends launch". BBC News Coventry and Warwickshire. 17 November 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  3. Anna Kessel. "England rugby union star Maggie Alphonsi taking a shot at Olympic gold | Sport". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-04-15.
  4. "Womens RWC - #WRWC2014 Dream Team revealed after fan vote". 2014-08-19. Archived from the original on 2014-08-19. Retrieved 2019-03-08.
  5. worldrugby.org. "World Rugby Awards Voting Panel". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 2019-09-20.
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