Maggie Alphonsi MBE
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England rugby World Cup winner and TV sports commentator
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Represented her country an impressive 74 times, scoring 28 tries
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Was named Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year, 2010
A former rugby union player who played as a flanker for Saracens W.R.F.C. and England, prior to announcing her international retirement in 2014, Maggie Alphonsi represented her country an impressive 74 times, scored 28 tries, and helped England win a record breaking seven consecutive Six Nations crowns.
The then face of international women's rugby and arguably one of the most well-known names in women's team sports, Maggie was a crucial member of the team that won the 2014 Rugby World Cup for the first time in 20 years and part of the team that was crowned the BBC’s Sports Personality Team of the Year.
In 2016, Maggie made history by becoming the first England Women’s player to be elected as a National Member of the Rugby Football Union’s Council. Maggie is one of just six females on the 56-strong Council and her role is to be a person of experience and influence in the Game, which includes a leading role in the Diversity & Inclusion steering Group.
Through her England rugby career Maggie Alphonsi has not only become a household rugby name but also a media professional, commentating on live rugby matches for SKY Sports, BT Sport and the BBC. In 2015 she became the first ever former female player to commentate on men’s international rugby when she was signed up by ITV for the Rugby World Cup, and she continues to work with ITV Sport across their rugby coverage.
Maggie is also the first ever former female player to become a columnist for a national newspaper, and you can regularly read her thoughts and opinions in The Telegraph.
Born in Lewisham, south London to Nigerian parents, Maggie was born with club foot, which she had to overcome in order to play rugby. She has taken her education as seriously as her rugby obtaining a MSc in Sports & Exercise at Roehampton University, a BSc in the same subjects at De Montfort University and a BTEC National Diploma in Leisure Studies at Hertford Regional College.
She was also awarded a Honorary Doctor of Arts from the University of Bedfordshire. She now works as an Athlete Mentor Manager for the Youth Sports Trust.
An excellent public speaker, Maggie Alphonsi is highly qualified to share her experiences through motivational keynote presentations. Certainly when she shares those experiences, you don't need to be a rugby fan to be interested or inspired by how she has become a prominent figure in the challenging world of a male-dominated sport.
Maggie Alphonsi is an excellent speaker, and highly qualified to share her experiences. Certainly, when she shares those experiences you don’t need to be a rugby fan to be interested or inspired by how she became a prominent figure in the challenging world of a male-dominated sport.
Delivering to a wide variety of audiences, from corporate business dinners to sports events or going into schools and inspiring the next generation, Maggie has a story you want to hear.
In her keynote motivational presentations Maggie Alphonsi covers a range of topics including:
• Leadership
• Understanding pressure
• The psychology of winning
• Transferring skills
• Pressure management
• Working in a male environment
• Challenging perceptions
• Mentoring and Coaching Performance mindsets
• Pitch to Boardroom
• Overcoming Adversity
Maggie Alphonsi kindly agreed to speak at the WACL (Women's advertising club of London) 'Gather' event, an annual conference run by our club to inspire and inform young women in the marketing and media community. Maggie gave an exceptionally compelling talk on her life and career, focusing on what drove and motivated her throughout. Not only is she a hugely successful elite sportswoman she also has the rare gift of being able to communicate what it takes to achieve those heights in a thoroughly engaging and accessible way. The feedback from the attendees was exceptional for the event and Maggie's talk resonated with all.
Maggie spoke at our staff engagement day; to hear her talk about overcoming adversity and aiming for the best in life was incredibly motivational. It was just what we needed to energise us before we embarked on an afternoon of delivering community projects - she is truly inspirational.
Having heard lots about what a great addition to an event Maggie would be, she did not disappoint - from the moment she arrived, her warm smile and easy manner made her a fantastic guest - she was happy to be interviewed, delivering passionate viewpoints about her personal story in rugby then chatting effortlessly to staff - and then taking part in a very honest way in our panel discussion - finally, joining us for drinks and more chatting after, she was just brilliant and inspiring - as well as incredibly honest which is so refreshing. We really enjoyed having her and everyone commented that she was a fantastic addition to the event.
Maggie is an incredibly inspirational speaker. Her presentation was topical and acknowledged the important role that teachers, PE and sport plays in lives. She presented with high energy, emotion, empathy and humour and ignited the audience. She was awesome!
Maggie was just excellent at our Grand Women’s Summit event at the Crabees Grand National Ladies Day. In addition to being absolutely inspiring on the panel and offering thought provoking views on gender balance and her on experiences, she was just brilliant to have on board in terms of speaking with the media and interacting with the delegates. The guests attending they felt very comfortable approaching and speaking with Maggie and discussing their own experiences with her, which added even more to the event experience.
Maggie’s keynote address to open our professional services conference was superb. Maggie connected brilliantly with the audience and there were even some cheers at the end as well as very loud applause. Lots of people commented afterwards how great the talk was and Maggie was mobbed by people wanting to speak to her! I really enjoyed working with Maggie as she was so easy to get on with and a great addition to our day.
How to book Maggie Alphonsi MBE for your event
To book Maggie Alphonsi MBE, please submit an online enquiry to booking.agent@nmp.co.uk or contact one of our booking agents on +44 (0)20 3822 0003.
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