Martin Offiah (born 29 December 1965) is an English former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. 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, and now features in a statue of great rugby league players outside Wembley Stadium.
Background
Offiah was born in Hackney, London, England to Nigerian parents of Igbo origin. He attended Woolverstone Hall School near Ipswich, Suffolk, where he represented the school at fencing and played rugby union and cricket. He played cricket for the Essex 2nd XI but soon realized his main talent was for rugby union. He first played club-level rugby union for Ipswich RFC and Rosslyn Park. After starring on the rugby sevens circuit and for the Barbarians, there was talk of an England future for Offiah.
Is Tyler Offiah related to Martin Offiah?
Tyler Offiah, son of Wigan Warriors great Martin, will make his full professional rugby union debut this weekend at just 18 years old.
How many tries did Martin Offiah score for Wigan?
A try-scoring machine in real life, Offiah won four Challenge Cups with Wigan, five league titles, three Regal Trophies, and one Lancashire Cup. A member of the 1994 World Club Challenge winning team, he scored 186 tries in 159 appearances for the Cherry and Whites.
Who does Martin Offiah’s son play for?
Tyler Offiah was born on 29 June 2006. Tyler Offiah is an English rugby union player with Bath Rugby, and his dad is Martin Offiah.
Personal life
Offiah has two sons, Tyler (born 29 June 2006) and Phoenix (born 24 September 2009) with his wife, model and photographer Virginia Offiah, and lives in Ealing, West London. He is the uncle of professional footballer Odel Offiah.
Participation in Reality TV Special
In 2006, Offiah participated in a Reality TV special of The Weakest Link and won £10,050, splitting it with Danniella Westbrook. Offiah won Celebrity Come Dine with Me in 2011 which was a Rugby World Cup special. He defeated Victor Ubogo, Kieran Bracken, and Gareth Chilcott. Offiah has also appeared on the BBC quiz show Pointless, first with Chris Kamara in 2012, where they were eliminated in the first round, and the second time in 2013 with cricketer Philip Tufnell where they won the cash prize by getting a Pointless answer in the final round. Offiah donated his £1,250 prize to the Joining Jack Charity. In 2014, he was a contestant on Splash! and was the fourth to be voted off from the show. In 2015, he appeared with his son Tyler on Big Star’s Little Star when they won £11,000 for charity.
Did Martin Offiah Take Part in All-Star Mr and Mrs?
In 2015, Offiah also took part in All Star Mr & Mrs with his wife Virginia. Offiah worked as a pundit for Sky Sports Rugby from 2008 until 2013. He was a regular studio guest during the 2008 Rugby League World Cup and presented a weekly Super League round-up on Sky Sports News. He has worked as an agent for several rugby players including Richie Myler and Kyle Eastmond. Offiah has also appeared several times on the TV show A Question of Sport. In January 2018, Offiah took part in They’re Off! for Sport Relief. Since 2019, Offiah has become a brand ambassador for electric vehicle charging infrastructure company Connected Kerb.
Professional Career
Here is the professional career of Offiah:
1987–91: Widnes
In the 1989–90 season, Offiah played on the wing for Widnes in their World Club Challenge win over the Canberra Raiders at the latter’s place. Offiah scored a try in Widnes’ 24–18 victory over Salford in the 1990 Lancashire Cup final. In 1991, Offiah played a second spell in Australia for St George Dragons. He scored 11 tries in 14 games, including a hat trick against his former club, Eastern Suburbs.
1992–95: Wigan
In 1995, Offiah’s life story was produced and directed by Pogus Caesar for Carlton TV UK as part of the Respect series. In a 30-minute documentary, he was chosen to play for England in the final of the World Cup in 1995, playing on the wing, which Australia won to retain the Cup. Offiah shares the record for the most tries scored by the England national rugby league team in a match.
Offiah made a total of 158 appearances for Wigan with another single appearance as a substitute. He scored more than a try a game, crossing the line 186 times. He also managed a goal and three drop goals, thus scoring a total of 749 points for the club. Upon leaving he sent an open letter to the Wigan Observer thanking fans and the club for his time there.
1996–99: London Broncos
After leaving Wigan, Offiah returned to the capital and joined London Broncos. After converting to summer rugby in 1996, Offiah joined Bedford Blues during the off-season of Super League He played 14 games for the club, scoring 10 tries, before returning to the Broncos for the 1997 season. He was awarded an MBE in the 1997 New Year Honors. He played for London in their 1999 Challenge Cup Final defeat against Leeds. In all, he managed to score 24 tries in 48 matches for the team.
2000–01: Salford Red Devils
He played for the London Broncos after which he joined Salford City Reds for Super League V in 2000. He stayed there for two seasons and played 45 games and scored 23 tries. He scored his 500th career try in July 2001 in a 37–14 win against his former club London Broncos.
2001–02: Wasps
He finished his career in 2001–02 playing rugby union for London Wasps, coached by his former Wigan team-mate Shaun Edwards. He played in eight games for the club, scoring five tries.
What is Martin Offiah doing now?
Since retiring Offiah has appeared on several reality TV shows. In May 2023, he was appointed official Ambassador of Wigan Warriors. In 2004, Offiah participated in the first series of Strictly Come Dancing, broadcast by BBC One. He came in fourth place along with his dancing partner, Erin Boag. He was one of the hosts, with Natasha Kaplinsky, of a one-off special of Strictly African Dancing, broadcast in 2005.
