Mark Atkinson (born 8 March 1990) is an English former

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 ...

player. A

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

, he spent a decade with

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

and played once for

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 ...

in 2021.

Career

Atkinson attended Saint Ambrose College in Cheshire and earned a contract with the region's top club Sale Sharks in 2008. He represented England under-20 in their 2010 Six Nations campaign. He joined

Wasps A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. ...

in 2010 however after they released him he signed for

Esher RFC Esher Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union club based in Surrey, England. Esher currently play in the third division of the English league system; National League 1, following the club's promotion from National League 2 South at th ...

during the

2011–12 RFU Championship The 2011–12 RFU Championship was the third season (of the professionalised format) of the second tier of the English domestic rugby union competition, played between August 2011 and May 2012. New teams to the division included Leeds Carnegie w ...

. The following season saw him join Bedford Blues. In 2014 Atkinson returned to the Premiership with

Gloucester Rugby Gloucester Rugby are a professional rugby union club based in the West Country city of Gloucester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby, as well as in the European Rugby Champions Cup. The club was formed in ...

. His first season at the club saw them lift the

EPCR Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception ...

however he did not play due to injury. He started the 2017 Challenge Cup final defeat to Stade Français at

Murrayfield Murrayfield is an affluent area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen and Roseburn. The A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murrayfield is often con ...

and the following year scored a try against Cardiff Blues as they lost consecutive European finals. In 2019 Gloucester finished third in the league and were eliminated by champions Saracens at the semi-final stage. In June 2019 Atkinson scored two tries for the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be les ...

in a friendly against an England XV at

Twickenham Stadium Twickenham Stadium () in Twickenham, south-west London, England, is a rugby union stadium owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), English rugby union governing body, which has its headquarters there. The England national rugby union team plays ...

. In September 2021 he received his first call-up to the senior

squad by coach Eddie Jones for a training camp. Due to a last minute squad change, Atkinson made his

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

debut off the bench against

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

on 6 November 2021, earning his only cap for England. After a decade at Kingsholm, Atkinson was awarded a testimonial year with Gloucester Rugby Club which commenced in 2023. He selected two charitable causes to raise funds for during this year: national cancer care charity Hope for Tomorrow and the 4ED campaign. Atkinson is an ambassador for Hope for Tomorrow. The charity builds, owns and maintains a fleet of mobile cancer care units to support the delivery of

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

cancer treatment to patients in their community, including one operating in Gloucestershire, where the charity is also based. In March 2024 after 170 appearances for the Cherry and Whites, Atkinson confirmed his retirement due to a long-term knee injury.

Honours

Gloucester *

: 2014–15 * EPCR Challenge Cup runner up: 2016–17, 2017–18

References

External links

Bedford Blues profileGloucester Rugby profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkinson, Mark 1990 births Living people English rugby union players England international rugby union players Barbarian F.C. players Bedford Blues players Esher RFC players Gloucester Rugby players Sale Sharks players Wasps RFC players People educated at St. Ambrose College Rugby union centres Rugby union players from Merseyside Sportspeople from the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley