Top 10 Players: Maggie Alphonsi
Who are the best women's players to have ever played the game? We pick our Top 10 since the test game began in 1982 and today we pick retired England star Maggie Alphonsi, who won a World Cup and who is one of the game's most recognisable names.
Published by Alison Donnelly, November 9th, 2015
3 minute read
Maggie AlphonsiMajor teams:SaracensPosition:Openside flankerCountry:EnglandTest span:2003 - 2014
Within the game, this hard hitting flanker has long been famous for her fearsome hits and intensity in contact, but it was probably her eye catching performances at the 2010 World Cup live on TV, which helped catapult Alphonsi into the wider sporting conscious, at very least in the UK.Nicknamed Maggie “the machine” by TV commentators, when her shuddering tackling ability became a mainstay of every single game she was involved in, Alphonsi had initially taken the game up at school, after encouragement from her PE teacher, who just happened to be Liza Burgess, captain of the Welsh women’s rugby team and all round star of the game herself.After attending a training session at Saracens, she never looked back. Alphonsi had natural attributes for rugby, not least total fearlessness, and unsurprisingly she progressed quickly and, at the age of just 18, was selected for the England Academy squad, winning her first cap at the age of 19 to kickstart the hugely successful career in the sport the followed.Off the pitch her achievements are quite something too and they include the being named the Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year, beating Olympic champion Jessica Ennis, Beth Tweddle and Amy Williamsto the award, as well as winning the prestigious Pat Marshall award from the Rugby Union Writers' Club where she pipped New Zealand captain, Richie McCaw to the gong to become the first woman to claim the prize in its 50-year history. She was recently one of the lead pundits on ITV's World Cup coverage.On the pitch her achievements were of course equally so. Before announcing her international retirement last year, she represented her country an impressive 74 times, scored 28 tries, and helped England win a record breaking seven consecutive Six Nations crowns. Most recently she was a crucial member of the team that won the 2014 Rugby World Cup for the first time in 20 years and was part of the team that was crowned the BBC’s Sports Personality Team of the Year.Now she is turning her attentions to fulfilling her Olympic dreams in Rio in 2016, but this time she is swapping her rugby boots for the shot put. Given her tenacity you’d be a fool to bet against her doing well and given her recent exploits on-screen, she's unlikely to be a name we forget about any time soon.
Top 10 Women's Players Ever: List so far
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