Martin Offiah facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Martin Offiah
MBE

Offiah at Wicked 10th Birthday 2016
Personal information
Full name	Martin Nwokocha Offiah
Born	(1965-12-29) 29 December 1965 (age 59) Hackney, London, England
Playing information
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	14 st 5 lb (91 kg)
Rugby league
Position	Wing
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1987–91 Widnes 145 181 0 0 724 1989 Eastern Suburbs 12 9 0 0 36 1991 St George Dragons 14 11 0 0 44 1992–95 Wigan 159 186 1 3 749 1993 Eastern Suburbs 1 0 0 0 0 1996–99 London Broncos 48 36 0 0 144 2000–01 Salford City Reds 45 23 0 2 94 Total 424 446 1 5 1791 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1992–96 England 5 8 0 1 33 1988–94 Great Britain 33 26 0 0 104
Rugby union
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1996–97 Bedford Blues 14 8 0 0 40 2001–02 London Wasps 8 5 0 0 25 Total 22 13 0 0 65

Martin Offiah in 2016

Martin Nwokocha Offiah (born 29 December 1965) is a famous English former professional rugby league and rugby union player. He played in the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s. Martin Offiah was so good that he was added to the Rugby Football League Hall of Fame in 2013. He scored over 500 tries in his rugby league career, which makes him one of the top try-scorers ever. You can even see a statue of him and other great rugby league players outside Wembley Stadium.

He was known for his amazing speed as a winger. This earned him the nickname "Chariots" Offiah, inspired by the movie Chariots of Fire. He played for several English rugby league teams like Widnes, Wigan, London Broncos, and Salford City Reds. He also played in Australia for Eastern Suburbs and St. George.

It's believed that the famous England rugby song "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" was first sung at Twickenham when Offiah was playing there in 1987. After he stopped playing, Martin Offiah appeared on many TV shows. In May 2023, he became an official Ambassador for the Wigan Warriors club.

Early Life and Rugby Beginnings

Martin Offiah was born in Hackney, London, England. His parents were from Nigeria. He went to Woolverstone Hall School where he was good at fencing, rugby union, and cricket. He even played cricket for Essex's second team. But he soon realized his best talent was in rugby.

He started playing club rugby union for Ipswich RFC and Rosslyn Park. He became a star in the shorter version of the game, rugby sevens, and played for the Barbarians. People even thought he might play for the England national rugby union team.

Professional Rugby League Career

Playing for Widnes (1987–1991)

Martin Offiah was noticed by Widnes coach Doug Laughton while playing rugby sevens. Widnes signed him for the 1987–88 season. Another club, St. Helens, was interested but decided not to sign him, calling him an "uncoordinated clown." They soon regretted that! Within months, Offiah became a huge star because of his incredible speed and ability to score tries.

At Widnes, he became a fantastic winger. He helped the team win the Championship and the Rugby League Premiership. In his first season, he scored 42 tries, becoming the league's top try scorer. He also broke the club record for most tries in a season. For his amazing efforts, he won the Man of Steel Award.

In 1988, he joined the 1988 Great Britain Lions tour of Australasia. He played in all three big matches against Australia. During this tour, Offiah proved he was the fastest player in rugby league. He easily won a 100-meter race against two Australian players in Sydney.

In the 1988–89 season, Widnes won the Championship and Premiership again. Offiah was once more the league's top try scorer, with 58 tries in 41 games. He also played in the John Player Special Trophy final.

He then spent the summer of 1989 playing in Australia for Eastern Suburbs. He scored a try in his first game and ended up with nine tries in 12 games before returning to Widnes.

During the 1989–90 season, Offiah played for Widnes in their 1989 World Club Challenge win against the Canberra Raiders. He scored a try in Widnes' 24–18 victory over Salford in the 1990 Lancashire Cup final.

In 1991, Offiah had another short time in Australia, playing for St George Dragons. He scored 11 tries in 14 games, including three tries in one match against his old club, Eastern Suburbs. Over four seasons at Widnes, Martin Offiah scored an amazing 181 tries in 145 games.

Moving to Wigan (1992–1995)

In January 1992, Offiah joined Wigan for a world record fee of £440,000. This was the highest amount ever paid for a rugby league player at that time.

Playing on the left wing, Offiah and teammate Gene Miles became a powerful duo. In his first season at Wigan, he scored 30 tries in just 15 games. He even set a new club record by scoring ten tries in a single match against Leeds!

Offiah helped Wigan win many trophies. He played in their 1992 Lancashire Cup Final victory against St Helens. He also played in several Regal Trophy finals, winning in 1992–93, 1994–95, and 1995–96.

In 1992, he went on the 1992 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand. Before a match, he had a 100-meter race against an Australian player, Lee Oudenryn. Offiah slipped a little at the start and lost by a small margin.

During the 1992–93 season, Offiah played for Wigan in the 1992 World Club Challenge. A week before that, he played for Great Britain in the 1992 Rugby League World Cup final against Australia at Wembley. Over 73,000 fans watched this huge game.

Offiah helped Wigan win the Challenge Cup four times, the Rugby Football League Championship five times, the Regal Trophy three times, and the Lancashire Cup once. He was named "man of the match" twice in the Challenge Cup final, winning the Lance Todd Trophy. His 90-meter solo try in the 1994 Challenge Cup Final is one of the most famous tries ever. After the 1993–94 season, Offiah played for Wigan in their 1994 World Club Challenge victory over the Brisbane Broncos in Australia.

In 1995, a documentary about Offiah's life was made for TV. He also played for England in the 1995 Rugby League World Cup Final, but Australia won the Cup. Martin Offiah shares the record for the most tries scored in a single match for the England national team.

He played 158 games for Wigan, scoring 186 tries. He also scored one goal and three drop goals, totaling 749 points for the club. When he left, he wrote a letter to the local newspaper thanking the fans and the club.

London Broncos (1996–1999)

After leaving Wigan, Martin Offiah returned to London and joined the London Broncos. Rugby league changed to a summer season in 1996. During the off-season, Offiah played rugby union for Bedford Blues. He played 14 games and scored 10 tries before returning to the Broncos for the 1997 season.

In 1997, he was awarded an MBE, which is a special honor from the Queen. He played for London in their 1999 Challenge Cup Final, where they lost to Leeds. In total, he scored 24 tries in 48 games for the London Broncos.

Salford Red Devils (2000–2001)

After the London Broncos, Offiah moved to Salford City Reds for the 2000 and 2001 seasons. He played 45 games and scored 23 tries. In July 2001, he scored his 500th career try in a game against his former club, London Broncos.

London Wasps (2001–2002)

Martin Offiah finished his playing career in 2001–02 by playing rugby union for London Wasps. His former Wigan teammate, Shaun Edwards, was the coach there. He played eight games for Wasps and scored five tries.

Career Statistics

Club

Overall

Martin Offiah scored 501 tries during his rugby league career. His total of 481 tries in British rugby league makes him third on the list of all-time try scorers.

Awards and Honours

Club Achievements

Widnes

• Rugby Football League Championship First Division
  • Champion: 1987–88, 1988–89
• Rugby League Premiership
  • Champion: 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90
• Lancashire Cup
  • Champion: 1990–91
• World Club Challenge
  • Champion: 1989

Wigan

• Rugby Football League Championship First Division
  • Champion: 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95
• Rugby League Premiership
  • Champion: 1993–94, 1994–95
• Challenge Cup
  • Champion: 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95
• Lancashire Cup
  • Champion: 1992–93
• League Cup
  • Champion: 1992–93, 1994–95
• World Club Challenge
  • Champion: 1994

International Achievements

England

• Rugby League World Cup
  • Runners-up: 1995

Individual Awards

• Man of Steel: 1988
• Lance Todd Trophy: 1992, 1994
• Rugby Football League Hall of Fame: Inducted 2013
• Wigan Warriors Hall of Fame: Inducted 2016

Special Honours

• MBE: 1997 New Year Honours (This is an award given by the British monarch for great achievements.)

Life After Playing Rugby

After retiring from rugby, Martin Offiah appeared on many reality TV shows. In 2004, he was on the first series of Strictly Come Dancing, where he finished in fourth place. In 2005, he helped host a special show called Strictly African Dancing.

In 2006, he won £10,050 on a special TV show called The Weakest Link. He also won Celebrity Come Dine With Me in 2011. Offiah appeared on the BBC quiz show Pointless twice. In 2013, he won the cash prize with cricketer Philip Tufnell and donated his £1,250 winnings to a charity called Joining Jack. In 2014, he was a contestant on Splash!, a diving show. In 2015, he and his son Tyler won £11,000 for charity on Big Star's Little Star.

From 2008 to 2013, Offiah worked as a sports expert for Sky Sports rugby. He often appeared on Sky Sports News to talk about rugby. He has also worked as an agent for rugby players and appeared on the TV show A Question of Sport.

You can see Martin Offiah as part of the Rugby League Monument outside Wembley Stadium. His bronze statue shows him celebrating a try from the 1994 Challenge Cup final.

Since 2019, Offiah has been an ambassador for a company that builds electric car charging stations. He became interested in electric cars after a ride with a former rugby player in 2016. In 2021, he helped his old club, London Broncos, partner with this company.

Personal Life

Martin Offiah lives in Ealing, West London, with his wife Virginia, who is a model and photographer. They have two sons, Tyler (born 2006) and Phoenix (born 2009). His nephew, Odel Offiah, is also a professional footballer.