Maggie Alphonsi, broadcaster and former rugby player

Desert Island Discs

BBC

Society & Culture, Music Commentary, Music, Personal Journals

4.4 • 13.7K Ratings

🗓️ 14 September 2025

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Maggie Alphonsi is a broadcaster and former rugby player. She was part of the England team which took home the 2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup and by the time she retired she’d won 74 caps for her country.

Maggie was brought up in north London and when she was 14 her PE teacher suggested she give the sport of rugby union a try. Maggie joined her local amateur club Saracens and relished the freedom she felt at being able to capitalise on her power and strength on the pitch.

Her first chance to play for England came when she was 19. Maggie started out as a number 12 and then later changed position to become a number seven or openside flanker. This role allowed her to showcase her tackling skills. She was part of the England team which won seven consecutive Six Nations tournaments and retired shortly after winning the Women’s Rugby World Cup.

She became the first female former player to commentate on the men’s game and to join the Rugby Football Union’s Council. In 2012 she was appointed an MBE for services to rugby. She is part of the BBC’s commentating team for this year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup.

Maggie lives in High Wycombe with her wife Marcella and their two children.

DISC ONE: Fast Car - Tracy Chapman DISC TWO: They Live in You - Samuel E. Wright (Mufasa) Ensemble - The Lion King, conducted by Joseph Church DISC THREE: Stand by Me - Ben E. King DISC FOUR: Woman - Andreya Triana DISC FIVE: Wake Me Up - Avicii DISC SIX: You Gotta Be – Des’ree DISC SEVEN: World in Union - Kiri Te Kanawa DISC EIGHT: I’m Coming Out - Diana Ross

BOOK CHOICE: The Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on life's journey by Hana Yasmeen Ali and Muhammad Ali LUXURY ITEM: A family photo CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Fast Car - Tracy Chapman Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're dead to me.
0:05.0	No, no, that's the name of our podcast. Sorry.
0:08.0	And we're back for a brand new series.
0:11.0	Not only is it British history, it was a quill drop.
0:15.0	With more fun and facts from history without taking it too seriously.
0:19.0	Empress Matilda, what is she going to do now?
0:21.7	She decides to take back some of the jewels with her. I'm taking these as well. I'm going to come back
0:27.3	for Tuscany one day as well. You're dead to me. Again, not you. Name of the show. Listen first on
0:33.7	BBC Sounds. BBC Sounds, music, radio podcasts.
0:39.8	Hello, I'm Lauren Levern, and this is the Desert Island Discs podcast from BBC Radio 4.
0:44.6	Every week, I ask my guests to choose the eight tracks, book and luxury that they'd want to take with them if they were cast away to a desert island.
0:52.0	For rights reasons, the music's shorter than on the original broadcast,
0:55.4	but you can find a version with longer music tracks on BBC Sounds.
0:59.5	Listeners will also get access to episodes 28 days earlier than everyone else.
1:03.9	I hope you enjoy listening.
1:04.8	Music My castaway this week is the broadcaster and former rugby player Maggie Alfonci.
1:31.8	She's been described as the best female rugby player of her generation
1:35.4	and her trajectory as a star athlete has followed the changing fortunes of her sport.
1:40.9	She started out at her local club, playing in kit handed down from the men's team and only
1:45.8	getting on the pitch when the men didn't want to use it. By the time she retired, she'd won 74
1:51.3	caps for her country, was part of the England team that won the 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup
1:56.9	and had been awarded an MBA for services to rugby. Her sport, meanwhile, had acquired a global
	...

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