Martin Offiah
Great Britain and England international rugby league and union player and commentator / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Martin Nwokocha Offiah MBE (/əˈfiə/ ə-FEE-ə (original pronunciation), /əˈfaɪə/ ə-FYE-ə (commonly used)); born 29 December 1965)[lower-alpha 1] is an English former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.[7] Offiah was inducted into the Rugby League Hall of Fame in 2013. He scored over 500 tries during his rugby league career, making him the third-highest try scorer (and top try-scoring English player) of all time,[8] and now features in a statue of great rugby league players outside Wembley Stadium.[9]
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Martin Nwokocha Offiah[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | (1965-12-29) 29 December 1965 (age 58)[lower-alpha 1] Hackney, London, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 14 st 5 lb (91 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby league | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Wing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rugby union | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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He was a Great Britain and England national representative winger, and due to his running speed he was nicknamed "Chariots" Offiah after the film Chariots of Fire while playing amateur rugby union at Rosslyn Park.[10] Offiah played for English rugby league clubs Widnes, Wigan, London Broncos and Salford City Reds, and in Australia for Sydney's Eastern Suburbs and St. George clubs.
It is believed that the England rugby anthem "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" was first sung at Twickenham while Offiah was playing in the Middlesex Sevens in 1987.[10]
Since retiring Offiah has appeared on several reality TV shows.[11] In May 2023, he was appointed official Ambassador of Wigan Warriors.