Panic turned to delight for England rugby star Rochelle Clark when a letter received from HMS, which she assumed to be a speeding ticket, turned out to be awarding her an MBE.

A phone call from her mum left Chesham Stags and Bucks University coach ‘Rocky’ – as she’s known to the rugby world – worrying that she might be in trouble after the letter arrived at her mother’s house a month ago.

But, instead of informing her that she had a hefty fine to pay, the letter was notification of her place on the New Year Honours list in recognition of her services to rugby – an award which took Clark by surprise and bought her mum to tears.

She told the Free Press: “I got a letter about a month ago and my mum rang me at about 8:30 on a Saturday morning, woke me up, I was really not with it and she said in a panicked voice ‘You’ve got a letter from HMS,’ and sounded quite panicked.

“I was like ‘Oh god, what have I done? Have I got a speeding ticket? Have I done something wrong?’ And then she started crying and I thought I must have done something really bad, and then she said ‘You’ve got an MBE!’ It obviously had to be a complete secret so that was hard for her.

“I was absolutely delighted when I found out and truly honoured. I’ve been overwhelmed by the support that I’ve had from teammates, friends and well wishers. It’s all been really good.”

The prestigious award tops off an astounding year for the 33-year-old who achieved a lifelong goal by winning the World Cup with England in August before the all conquering team beat off competition from Europe’s Ryder Cup winning golfers to win Team of the Year at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards.

Clark admits that winning the World Cup was the realisation of a dream after losing two finals previously, and she stated that 2014 has been by far the best year of her life.

She said: “It’s been the best year of my life, without doubt. No other year can beat this. I’ve achieved a lifelong dream in winning the World Cup and, like I said, it was the icing on the cake getting the MBE.

“Twenty-fourteen has just been fantastic. The support we’ve had, the media coverage is getting better and better but I’m still the same. I get up, I go to work, I do my training but it’s been made extra sweet by being a world champion.

“I coach Chesham men’s rugby team and Bucks University men’s rugby team and those boys have been really supportive. It’s been such an amazing experience and something I’ll never forget.”

Despite achieving her main ambition, Rocky’s appetite for success is as strong as ever and she has already set her sights on reaching a century of caps for her country.

The prop will again don the national jersey in February when the Six Nations gets under-way with Clark able to reach the milestone during the tournament – dependent on selection.

“I very much still want to carry on playing. I’m on 95 caps now so potentially, depending on selection, I could win my 100th cap in the last game of the Six Nations.

“My goal is to win the Six Nations, win my 100th cap and we’ve got a summer tour which I’d like to go on. I’m playing some of my best rugby so I’m nowhere near (retiring). People say ‘Oh, she’s won the World Cup as an older more experienced player, is it time for her to go?’

“For me, I just want more from the sport and to keep giving it my all. I think that’s why I’ve been given the award. I’ve played rugby internationally for 11 years, I’ve been a rugby coach for my living and rugby is everything to me.”