Alister James Atkinson (1925-2002) was a New Zealand

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

and professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

footballer who played representative rugby league (RL) for

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in the 1954 World Cup. His position of preference was at Loose forward.

Playing career

Atkinson started his career as a

player and represented the Canterbury Rugby Union in 1945 and 1946. After switching codes, Atkinson became a Linwood Keas player in the

Canterbury Rugby League Canterbury Rugby League is the regional body that administers rugby league in Canterbury, New Zealand. CRL manages local competitions from senior level down to age group competitions. Canterbury Rugby League also manages the Canterbury rugby lea ...

competition and a

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

and South Island representative. Atkinson was a reserve for New Zealand in 1950 and first played for the

New Zealand national rugby league team The New Zealand national rugby league team ( Māori: Tīma rīki motu Aotearoa) has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of ...

in 1951.''Lion Red 1988 Rugby League Annual'',

New Zealand Rugby Football League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood '' ...

, 1988. p.p.160-167 Atkinson toured Great Britain and France in 1951–52 and 1955–56 and was allocated in Australia in 1952. Overall, he played in 71 games for the Kiwis, Pineapples, Oranges and pears including in 24 tests and was the vice captain of the squad in the inaugural

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

.Bruce Montgomerie ''Those Who Played'', Montgomerie Publishing, 2004. . p.21. 23 of his test appearances were consecutive, until he missed the third test against

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

in the 1955 series. Atkinson was also a sprinter, being fast enough to compete on the cash sprinting circuit which existed at that time.

Later years

Atkinson was a member of the Canterbury board of control between 1968 and 1976 and served as a provincial selector and the

manager for the 1974 home series against

.Coffey, John. ''Canterbury XIII'', Christchurch, 1987. p.96. In 1976 Atkinson chaired the Canterbury board of control.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkinson, Alister 1925 births 2002 deaths Canterbury rugby league team players Canterbury rugby union players Linwood Keas players New Zealand male sprinters New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league administrators New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand rugby union players Rugby league locks Rugby league players from Christchurch Rugby league second-rows Rugby union players from Christchurch South Island rugby league team players