Martin Offiah scored over 500 tries during his rugby league career, making him the third-highest try scorer of all time, and now features in a statue of great rugby league players outside Wembley Stadium.
42 Facts About Martin Offiah
2.
Martin Offiah 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.
3.
Martin 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.
4.
Since retiring Martin Offiah has appeared on several reality TV shows.
5.
Martin Offiah was born in Hackney, London, England to Nigerian parents of Igbo origin, and attended Woolverstone Hall School near Ipswich, Suffolk, where he represented the school at fencing and played rugby union and cricket.
6.
Martin Offiah played cricket for the Essex 2nd XI but soon realised his main talent was for rugby union.
7.
Martin Offiah first played club-level rugby union for Ipswich RFC and Rosslyn Park.
8.
Martin Offiah ended his debut season with 42 tries, making him the league's top try scorer, breaking the club record held by Frank Myler for most tries scored in a season.
9.
Martin Offiah received the Man of Steel award for his efforts.
10.
Martin Offiah was rewarded with a place in the 1988 Great Britain Lions tour of Australasia, where he played in all three Tests of the Ashes series which was lost to Australia.
11.
Martin Offiah then spent the summer in Australia playing for Eastern Suburbs.
12.
Martin Offiah scored a try on his NSWRL debut against Western Suburbs, and went on to score nine tries in 12 games for the club before returning to Widnes a feat only surpassed by Steven Nolan.
13.
In 1991, Martin Offiah had a second spell in Australia, this time playing for St George Dragons.
14.
Martin Offiah scored 11 tries in 14 games, including a hat trick against his former club, Eastern Suburbs.
15.
Over four seasons at Widnes Martin Offiah scored a total of 181 tries in 145 games.
16.
Martin Offiah was selected to go on the 1992 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand.
17.
Martin Offiah appeared to slip slightly at the start and Oudenryn won by half a yard.
18.
Martin Offiah played in four Challenge Cup wins, five Championship teams, three Regal Trophy wins and one Lancashire County Cup victory.
19.
Martin Offiah was twice man of the match winning the Lance Todd Trophy at Wembley.
20.
Martin Offiah was selected to play for England in the 1995 World Cup Final on the wing, but Australia won the match and retained the Cup.
21.
Martin Offiah jointly holds the record for the most tries scored in a match for the England national rugby league team.
22.
Martin Offiah made a total of 158 appearances for Wigan with another single appearance as a substitute.
23.
Martin Offiah scored more than a try a game, crossing the line 186 times.
24.
Martin Offiah managed a goal and three drop goals, thus scoring a grand total of 749 points for the club.
25.
Martin Offiah left the club in 1996 to return to the capital to play for London Broncos, but sent an open letter to the Wigan Observer thanking fans and the club for his time there.
26.
When rugby league made the switch to summer rugby in 1996, Martin Offiah played in only ten games before moving to the London Broncos.
27.
Martin Offiah played for London in their 1999 Challenge Cup Final defeat against Leeds.
28.
In 1996, after rugby union had officially allowed professionalism, Martin Offiah signed for Bedford Blues, and had a brief spell there while playing for the London Broncos.
29.
Martin Offiah played 14 games for the club, scoring 10 tries.
30.
Martin Offiah played in eight games for the club, scoring five tries.
31.
Martin Offiah was awarded an MBE in the 1997 New Year Honours.
32.
In 2004, Martin Offiah was one of the celebrities who took part in the first series of the BBC One show Strictly Come Dancing, reaching fourth place with his partner Erin Boag.
33.
Martin Offiah won Celebrity come Dine With Me in 2011 which was a Rugby World Cup special.
34.
Martin Offiah has appeared on BBC quiz show Pointless, firstly with Chris Kamara in 2012, where they were eliminated in the first round, the second time in 2013 with cricketer Philip Tufnell where they won the cash prize by getting a Pointless answer in the final round.
35.
Martin Offiah worked as a pundit for Sky Sports rugby from 2008 until 2013.
36.
Martin Offiah was a regular studio guest during the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, and presented a weekly Super League round up on Sky Sports News.
37.
Martin Offiah has worked as an agent for several rugby players including Richie Myler and Kyle Eastmond.
38.
Martin Offiah has appeared several times on the TV show A Question Of Sport.
39.
Martin Offiah is part of the Rugby League Monument that sits outside Wembley Stadium, his bronze likeness depicting his try celebration from the 1994 Challenge Cup final.
40.
Since 2019, Martin Offiah has been a brand ambassador for the electric vehicle charging infrastructure company Connected Kerb.
41.
Martin Offiah has two sons, Tyler was born on 29 June 2006 and and Phoenix was born on 24 September 2009 and with his wife, model and photographer Virginia Martin Offiah and lives in Ealing, West London.
42.
Martin Offiah is the uncle of professional footballer Odel Offiah.