John Atkinson (3 October 1946 – 23 December 2017) was an English

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 its m ...

and

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 ...

-winning 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. He played in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and was a

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

in the 1980s. Atkinson played club level rugby union (RU) for Roundhay RUFC, representative level rugby league (RL) for

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 is ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and at club level for

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

and

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

as a , i.e. number 5. Atkinson played in four

Rugby League World Cup The Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league tournament contested by the top national men's representative teams. The tournament is administered by the International Rugby League and was first held in France in 1954, which was ...

s (1968, 1970, 1972 and 1975), scoring six tries in total.

Background

John Atkinson was born

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, on 3 October 1946. After leaving school, he joined local

club, Roundhay RUFC. His grandfather George Broughton, and uncle George Broughton Jr., both played

for

Rugby league career

Club career

Atkinson was signed by his hometown

club

in May 1965. He made his first team debut in March 1966, scoring two tries against

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

. On 11 May 1968, he won his first trophy with the club with a 11–10 victory over

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, that plays in the Super League. One of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, between 1999 and 2016 the c ...

in the 1968 Challenge Cup final at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

. Atkinson was credited with scoring Leeds' only try during the match after being awarded a controversial penalty try. In the 1968–69 season, Atkinson won the first of seven Yorkshire Cup finals with the club, scoring a try in Leeds' 22–11 victory over

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the town centre the River Calder joins the ...

in the

1968 Yorkshire Cup The year was highlighted by Protests of 1968, protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechos ...

Final at Belle Vue,

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

on 19 October 1968. He also won his first league championship with the club, scoring the match-winning try in Leeds' 16–14 victory over Castleford in the Championship Final at

Odsal Odsal is an area of the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Odsal Stadium is the home of Bradford rugby league club. The Richard Dunn Sports Centre is named after the boxer who lived in Bradford at the time of his 1976 bout against Muh ...

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

, on 24 May 1969. In the 1970–71 season, Atkinson played and scored a try in the 23–7 victory over

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England, who play in the Championship (rugby league), Championship. Featherstone is a former coal mining town with a population of around 16,000 and Rover ...

in the 1970 Yorkshire Cup Final at Odsal, Bradford on 21 November 1970, played in Leeds' 9–5 victory over St Helens in the 1970 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingle ...

on 15 December 1970, and played in the 7–24 defeat by

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...

in the 1971 Challenge Cup Final at Wembley on 15 May 1971. In the 1971–72 season, Atkinson played in the 13–16 defeat by St Helens in the

1972 Challenge Cup Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magius and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 950 '' Ab urbe con ...

Final at Wembley on 13 May 1972, and scored a try in the 9–5 victory over St Helens in the 1972 Championship Final at

Station Road, Swinton Station Road was a stadium in Pendlebury, near Manchester, England. It was the home of Swinton Rugby League Club between 1929 and 1992 and was widely recognised as one of the finest grounds in the Rugby League. Swinton moved to Station Road w ...

, on 20 May 1972. In the 1972–73 season, Atkinson scored a try in the 36–9 victory over

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Hudder ...

in the 1972 Yorkshire Cup Final at Odsal Stadium on 7 October 1972, and scored two tries in Leeds' 12–7 victory over

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

in the 1972–73 Player's No.6 Trophy Final at Fartown,

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

on 24 March 1973. In the 1973–74 season, Atkinson played in the 7–2 victory over

in the 1973 Yorkshire Cup Final at Headingley on 20 October 1973. In the 1975–76 season, Atkinson played in the 15–11 victory over

Hull Kingston Rovers Hull Kingston Rovers are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England, that competes in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby league. The club has won five league championships, and one Challeng ...

in the 1975 Yorkshire Cup Final at Headingley on 15 November 1975. Atkinson's

testimonial match A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, particularly in association football in the United Kingdom and South America, where a club has a match to honour a player for servic ...

at Leeds also took place in 1976. In March 1976, Atkinson suffered a broken leg in a league match against

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

. During his recovery, he fractured his wrist when slipping on his crutches. The injuries kept him out of action for nine months. At the end of the 1976–77 season, he played and scored a try in the 16–7 victory over

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on t ...

in the 1977 Challenge Cup Final at Wembley on 7 May 1977. In October 1977, Atkinson announced his retirement from rugby league due to work commitments, but admitted his decision had also been influenced by his performance in a recent

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

defeat against Wigan, in which he was beaten by his opposing winger Green Vigo several times throughout the match. He resumed playing for Leeds three months later. At the end of the 1977–78 season, Atkinson played and scored a try in the 14–12 victory over St Helens in the

1978 Challenge Cup Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

Final at Wembley on 13 May 1978. In the 1979–80 season, Atkinson played in the 15–6 victory over Halifax in the 1979 Yorkshire Cup Final at Headingley on 27 October 1979. In the 1980–81 season, Atkinson played in the 8–7 victory over Hull Kingston Rovers in the 1980 Yorkshire Cup Final at Fartown on 8 November 1980. Atkinson left Leeds to join

in 1982. He scored 340 tries for Leeds, the second highest career total in the club's history.

Representative career

Atkinson was capped 26 times for

between 1968 and 1980. He was selected for three World Cups for Great Britain (1968, 1970 and 1972), and was part of the World Cup-winning team that played against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in the 1972 Rugby League World Cup final. He was also selected for the 1970 and 1974 Lions tours. He was also offered a place on the 1979 Lions tour, but declined the selection. Atkinson was also capped 12 times for

between 1968 and 1978. He was selected for a fourth World Cup in 1975.

Coaching career

Atkinson became player-coach at

in February 1983, replacing

Mick Morgan Mick Morgan (born ) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and coached in the 1980s and 1990s. He played at representative level for England and Yorkshire, and at club level for Wakef ...

. He resigned in February 1986.

Outside rugby league

Atkinson worked as a police officer during his playing career. After retiring from rugby, he became a detective sergeant and later worked as a security manager. In March 2017, it was revealed that Atkinson was suffering from dementia and was being cared for by his wife. He died on 23 December 2017, aged 71.

Honours

Club *

RFL Championship The Championship, known as the Betfred Championship for sponsorship reasons, is a professional rugby league competition. It is the Rugby Football League Championship Second Division, second-tier competition organised by the Rugby Football Lea ...

** Winners (2): 1968–69, 1971–72 *

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

** Winners (3): 1967–68, 1976–77, 1977–78 * RFL Premiership ** Winners (2): 1974–75, 1978–79 *

BBC2 Floodlit Trophy The BBC 2 Floodlit Trophy (also known as the BBC 2 Television Trophy) was a competition for British rugby league clubs held between 1965 and 1980. It was designed specifically for television, and the then director of BBC2, broadcaster David Att ...

** Winners (1): 1970–71 * Players No. 6 Trophy ** Winners (1): 1972–73 *

RFL Yorkshire Cup The RFL Yorkshire Cup is a rugby league county cup competition for teams in Yorkshire. Starting in 1905 the competition ran, with the exception of 1915 to 1918, until the 1992–93 season, when it folded due to fixture congestion. In 2019, th ...

** Winners (7): 1968–69, 1970–71, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1975–76, 1979–80, 1980–81 Representative *

** Winners (1): 1972 Individual * Open Rugby World XIII: 1978, Oct 1979 * Leeds Rugby Hall of Fame Inductee: 2019

References

External links

*(archived by web.archive.org
John Atkinson International ProfileWhen Great Britain won the World CupHeadingley HeroesRugby Cup Final 1968
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkinson, John 1946 births 2017 deaths Carlisle RLFC coaches Carlisle RLFC players England national rugby league team players English rugby league coaches English rugby league players English rugby union players Great Britain national rugby league team players Leeds Rhinos players Rugby league players from Leeds Rugby league wingers Rugby union players from Leeds Yorkshire rugby league team players