Margaret Alphonsi MBE, England Rugby World Cup Winner 2014!

Maggie was always in trouble before she found rugby at age 14. During this podcast we learn more about Maggie, her rugby career and how playing rugby gave her a new found confidence and changed the direction of her life. Maggie retired in 2014 after winning the Rugby World Cup, before that she'd represented her country an impressive 74 times! Scored 28 tries, and helped England win a record breaking 7 consecutive Six Nations crowns. Maggie is an ambassador for the "Spirit of Rugby" program as well as being a regular commentator on live rugby matches for Sky Sports & the BBC.   Shownotes -An update on what's been happening in women rugby over in Rio -Why Maggie is visiting my home town….Liverpool as an ambassador for Spirit of Rugby -How Maggie first got into rugby and what's it like being in the field and dealing with the big tackles -How rugby impacted on her confidence at a young age  -Why having someone believe in her made all the difference in her rugby career -The importance of having visible role models in the media and how they inspired her  -Setting her first BIG goal at 14 to play rugby for England -Wearing the England shirt and playing on the international stage for the first time and how she approached that challenge -Dealing with pressure and why you treat pressure as a privilege  -How to keep a winning mindset going -Dealing with failure and the process they had to go through to come out on the other side even stronger -Having the difficult conversations in order to improve the team -Winning the BBC - Sports Personality Team of the Year -Why Maggie is known as "Maggie the Machine"! -What Maggie has learnt from playing rugby and why she decided to retire after the World Cup in 2014 -Trying out athletics and wanting to make it to Rio -How women's rugby has changed over the years and why you should give rugby a go!!   Maggie is on twitter @MaggieAlphonsi  I'm also on twitter @_TOUGH_GIRL   A massive thank you to everyone who has become a patron! You too can support the Tough Girl Podcast from $2 to $5 per month!  CLICK HERE!   Future Events! 12th - 14th August - Adventure Travel Film Festival, London 20th August - Tough Girl Tribe Trip to Snowdonia 27th - 31st August - Emma & Sarah - Hadrian's Wall Adventure! 1st - 4th September - Base Camp Festival, Peak District   Take a listen to these related podcast episodes… Catherine Spencer - Former England Women's Rugby Union player & Captain Lois Pryce (Adventure Travel Film Festival) Belinda Kirk (Base Camp Festival) Sarah Outen (One of the speakers at Base Camp Festival) Emma Timmis (My running companion for Hadrian's' Wall)   Don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode!