Margaret Alphonsi (born 20 December 1983) is an English former

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player who played as a flanker for Saracens W.R.F.C. and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

before retiring in 2014. She was Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year in 2010, and was inducted into the

World Rugby Hall of Fame The World Rugby Hall of Fame (formerly the IRB Hall of Fame) recognises special achievement and contribution to the sport of rugby union. The World Rugby Hall of Fame covers players, coaches, administrators, match officials, institutions and other ...

in November 2016 during the opening ceremonies for the Hall's first physical location in

Rugby, Warwickshire Rugby is a market town in eastern Warwickshire, England, close to the River Avon. In the 2021 census its population was 78,125, making it the second-largest town in Warwickshire. It is the main settlement within the larger Borough of Rugby whi ...

. Alphonsi was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

2012 Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours List 2012 was released on 16 June 2012 in the United Kingdom. on 11 June 2012 in Australia on 4 June 2012 in New Zealand,Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified i ...

, south London to

single-parent family A single parent is a person who has a child or children but does not have a spouse or live-in partner to assist in the upbringing or support of the child. Reasons for becoming a single parent include divorce, break-up, abandonment, becoming wid ...

, and was born with

club foot Clubfoot is a birth defect where one or both feet are rotated inward and downward. Congenital clubfoot is the most common congenital malformation of the foot with an incidence of 1 per 1000 births. In approximately 50% of cases, clubfoot aff ...

, which she had to overcome in order to play rugby. Alphonsi was named to the

2014 World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting righ ...

Dream Team. 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 Peace One Day is a non-profit organisation whose objective is to institutionalise the International Day of Peace. It was founded in 1999 by British documentary filmmaker and actor Jeremy Gilley. History In 1999 Jeremy Gilley desired there be ...

, Wooden Spoon, Sporting Equals and SKRUM which aims to give the youth of Africa hope for the future through rugby. Go Maggie!! Maggie Alphonsi

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 Gareth Edmund Malone (born 9 November 1975) is an English choirmaster and broadcaster, self-described as an "animateur, presenter and populariser of choral singing". He is best known for his television appearances in programmes such as '' The ...

and other celebrities in making the 2014 Children in Need official single. Alphonsi attempted to qualify to compete in the

2016 Rio Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

in the

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

. 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. Alphonsi holds an MSc in Sports & Exercise from Roehampton University, a BSc in Sports & Exercise from De Montfort University, and a BTEC National Diploma in Leisure Studies from Hertford Regional College. She was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Arts by the University of Bedfordshire.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alphonsi, Maggie 1983 births Living people England women's international rugby union players English female rugby union players Rugby union flankers Members of the Order of the British Empire Black British sportswomen Rugby union players from Lewisham English people of Nigerian descent World Rugby Hall of Fame inductees The Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year winners England international women's rugby sevens players Saracens Women rugby players