Christopher Atkin (born 7 February 1993) is an English 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 112 ...

footballer who plays as a or for the Salford Red Devils in the Betfred Super League and the

England Knights England Knights (previously known as Emerging England and England A) is considered the feeder team for the England rugby league team. The Knights play a key role in the development of emerging talent, allowing players to gain experience in an i ...

at international level. He has previously played for the

Swinton Lions The Swinton Lions are a professional rugby league club based in Swinton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the Championship. The club has won the Championship six times and three Challenge Cups. Before 1996, the club was known s ...

in League 1 and the Championship, occasionally playing as a . Atkin also played for Hull Kingston Rovers in the Championship and the

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

Background

Atkin was born in Widnes, Cheshire, England. He is a graduate of

Liverpool John Moores University , mottoeng = Fortune favours the bold , established = 1823 – Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts1992 – Liverpool John Moores University , type = Public , endowment = , coor ...

. Atkin is also a qualified teacher, previously teaching Physical Education at Wade Deacon High School in Widnes.

Early career

Atkin was in the Widnes Vikings' Academy System and he has previously played for the England Students in the 2013 Student Rugby League World Cup. Atkin was then eventually released by the Widnes Academy System due to them already having two established young halves in Tom Gilmore and

Danny Craven Danny Craven (born 3 May 1967) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with St Kilda Football Club, St Kilda and the Brisbane Bears in the Australian Football League, Victorian/Australian Football League (VFL/AFL). Playing as a rove ...

Senior career

Swinton (2014-17)

Between 2014 and 2017, he played for Swinton on a part-time basis under Head Coach,

John Duffy John Duffy may refer to: Sportspeople * John Duffy (footballer, born 1886) (1886–?), English football centre half for Bradford City * John Duffy (footballer, born 1922) (1922–1996), Scottish football right back for Clyde and Norwich * John Duf ...

. Atkin was the hero in the Swinton's 2015 play-off semi-final victory over the York City Knights, slotting over the match-winning drop-goal in golden-point extra-time, to secure their spot in the 2015 play-off final. Once again, Atkin's impressive performance in the 2015 play-off final against the Keighley Cougars proved to be the difference at the final whistle. Swinton gained promotion to the Championship with a thrilling 29-28 victory over Keighley, with Atkin scoring a try and kicking over a drop-goal, which proved to be the deciding factor come the end of the match. Atkin proved to be a pivotal player in Swinton's 2016 Championship campaign. Atkin recorded exactly one-hundred appearances for Swinton and he scored over seven-hundred points in the process.

Hull Kingston Rovers (2017 - 2019)

Atkin was originally slated to join Hull Kingston Rovers in the 2018 season, but due to financial difficulties at Swinton, Hull Kingston Rovers agreed to pay the Swinton club a five-figure transfer fee to secure Atkin's services with immediate effect during the dying stages of the 2017 season. On 23 July 2017, Atkin made his Hull Kingston Rovers début against Halifax, in a 28-6 Championship league defeat. Atkin was part of the Hull Kingston Rovers side that won promotion back to the

, at the first time of asking following relegation the season prior. Following an impressive start to his Hull Kingston Rovers career in the latter-stages of the 2017 Championship season, Atkin was quickly handed his

bow in round two against Leeds in 2018, where he won the Sky Sports' 'Man-of-the-Match' Award. Atkin scored his first try for Hull Kingston Rovers on 2 April 2018, in a 44-6 Super League defeat against Wigan at the DW Stadium.

Salford (2020 - present)

In round 10 of the

2021 Super League season Super League XXVI, known as the Betfred Super League XXVI for sponsorship reasons, was the 26th season of the Super League and 127th season of rugby league in Great Britain. The 2021 season was originally scheduled to begin on 11 March 2021, ho ...

, Atkin kicked the winning field goal for Salford in their 9-8 victory over Huddersfield. In the 2022 Super League season, Atkin played 20 games for Salford including their semi-final loss against St Helens. In the 2023 Super League season, Atkins played 27 games for Salford as the club finished 7th on the table and missed the playoffs.

Representative career

England Knights (2018)

2018

It was announced by the Rugby Football League on 7 March 2018, that Atkin had been selected in the 25-man

' Performance Squad, that would be touring Papua New Guinea for a two-game Test match series later in the year. Atkin made his début for the

against Papua New Guinea on 27 October 2018, the game played in

Lae Lae () is the capital of Morobe Province and is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located near the delta of the Markham River and at the start of the Highlands Highway, which is the main land transport corridor between the Highl ...

ended in a 12-16 victory to the

Knights A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

. He played against Papua New Guinea at the Oil Search National Football Stadium.

References

External links

Hull Kingston Rovers profileSwinton Lions profileSL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkin, Chris Living people 1993 births England Knights national rugby league team players English rugby league players Hull Kingston Rovers players Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league players from Widnes Salford Red Devils players Swinton Lions players