Paul 'Patch' Atcheson (born 17 May 1973) is a former

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

international

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 played in the 1990s and 2000s. He played at representative level 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

, and at club level for the

Widnes Vikings The Widnes Vikings are an English rugby league club in Widnes, Cheshire, which competes in the Betfred Championship. The club plays home matches at the Halton Stadium. Founded as Widnes Football Club, they are one of the original twenty-two rug ...

(two spells),

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 ...

( Heritage № 877),

Oldham Bears Oldham R.L.F.C., also known as the Roughyeds, is a professional rugby league football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. The club currently competes in the RFL League 1, the third tier of British Rugby League. Formed in 1876 as Oldh ...

and St Helens, as a .

Background

Atcheson was born in St Helens,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, England.

Playing career

Widnes

Paul Atcheson was an interchange/ substitute in

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 ...

' 24-0 victory over

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 ...

in the 1991–92 Regal Trophy Final during the 1991–92 season at

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

on Saturday 11 January 1992.

Wigan

After the

1993–94 Rugby Football League season The 1993–94 Rugby Football League season was the 99th ever season of professional rugby league football in Britain. Sixteen teams competed from August 1993 until May 1994 for a number of titles, primarily the Stones Bitter Championship. Season ...

Atcheson travelled with defending champions

to Brisbane, playing from the interchange bench in their

1994 World Club Challenge The 1994 MMI World Club Challenge was a replay of the 1992 World Club Challenge, with 1993–94 Rugby Football League season champions Wigan facing the 1993 NSWRL season premiers, the Brisbane Broncos, this time in Australia. Wigan were clearl ...

victory over Australian premiers, the

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite com ...

. Atcheson made one appearance for Great Britain Under-21s in 1993, and won

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

s for

Wales national rugby league team The Wales national rugby league team represents Wales in international rugby league football matches. Currently the team is ranked 17th in the IRL World Rankings. The team was run under the auspices of the Rugby Football League, but an indepen ...

while at Wigan in 1995 against England, France, and in the

1995 Rugby League World Cup The 1995 Rugby League World Cup was held during October in the United Kingdom. It was the eleventh staging of the Rugby League World Cup and was marketed as the Halifax Centenary World Cup, reflecting the tournament's sponsorship and the fact ...

against Western Samoa. Paul Atcheson played as an interchange/ substitute, i.e. number 14, (replacing

Va'aiga Tuigamala Va'aiga Lealuga Tuigamala Pulelua Fesola'i (4 September 1969 – 24 February 2022), sometimes known as Inga Tuigamala, was a professional rugby union and rugby league footballer. Born in Samoa, he represented New Zealand in rugby union, winnin ...

) in

's 40-10 victory over

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

in the 1994–95 Regal Trophy Final during the 1994–95 season at

Alfred McAlpine Stadium Kirklees Stadium (currently known due to naming rights, sponsorship as the John Smith's Stadium) is a multi-use stadium in Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England. Since 1994, it has been the home ground of Association football, football club ...

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 Saturday 28 January 1995.

Oldham

While at Oldham in 1996 he played for Wales against France, and England. In the 1997 post season, Atcheson was selected to play for

Great Britain national rugby league team The Great Britain national rugby league team represents Great Britain in rugby league. Administered by the Rugby Football League (RFL), the team is nicknamed The Lions. For most of the 20th century, the Great Britain team toured overseas, ...

in all three matches of the

Super League Test series Super may refer to: Computing * SUPER (computer program), or Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer, a video converter / player * Super (computer science), a keyword in object-oriented programming languages * Super key (keyboard butt ...

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 ...

. He also signed with St Helens.

St Helens

While at St. Helens in 1998 Atcheson played for Wales against England. Atcheson played for St. Helens at in their

1999 Super League Grand Final The 1999 Super League Grand Final was the Second official Grand Final conclusive and championship-deciding game of the Super League IV season. The match was played between St. Helens and Bradford Bulls on Saturday 9 October 1999, at Old Traffo ...

victory over

Bradford Bulls The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is predom ...

. Having won the 1999 Championship St. Helens contested in the

2000 World Club Challenge The 2000 World Club Challenge was contested by 1999 NRL season premiers, the Melbourne Storm and 1999's Super League IV champions, St. Helens. The match was played on 22 January at JJB Stadium, Wigan before a crowd of 13,394. The Melbourne Storm ...

against

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

Premiers the

Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm are a rugby league club based in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia that participates in the National Rugby League. The first fully professional rugby league team based in the state, the Storm entered the competition in 1998. ...

, with Atcheson playing fullback in the loss.

Widnes

Atcheson played for Wales while at Widnes in 2000 against South Africa, in the 2000 Rugby League World Cup against Cook Islands, Lebanon, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Australia, in 2001 against England, in 2002 against New Zealand, and in 2003 against Russia, and Australia.

References

External links

Great Britain Statistics at englandrl.co.uk (statistics currently missing due to not having appeared for both Great Britain, and England)Statistics at wigan.rlfans.comI was on the dole …now I'm facing those mighty Aussies

Wasps' pounds 100,000 Atcheson sting

Profile at saints.org.ukThe Teams: Wales

*(archived by web.archive.org

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atcheson, Paul 1973 births English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Great Britain under-21 national rugby league team players Living people Oldham R.L.F.C. players Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from St Helens, Merseyside St Helens R.F.C. players Wales national rugby league team captains Wales national rugby league team players Widnes Vikings players Wigan Warriors players