| Personal information | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alister James Atkinson | |||||
| Born | 1924/1925 | |||||
| Died | 9 December 2002 (age 77) Christchurch, New Zealand |
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| Playing information | ||||||
| Weight | 82 kg (12 st 13 lb) | |||||
| Rugby union | ||||||
| Club | ||||||
| Years | Team | Pld | T | G | FG | P |
| 1945–1946 | Canterbury | |||||
| Rugby league | ||||||
| Position | Second-row, Loose forward | |||||
| Club | ||||||
| Years | Team | Pld | T | G | FG | P |
| Linwood | ||||||
| Representative | ||||||
| Years | Team | Pld | T | G | FG | P |
| Canterbury | ||||||
| 1949–1955 | South Island | |||||
| 1951–1956 | New Zealand | 24 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Source: RLP | ||||||
Alister James Atkinson (1924/25-2002) was a New Zealand rugby league player who represented his country in the 1954 World Cup. His position of preference was at Loose Forward.[1]
Atkinson started his career as a rugby union player and represented the Canterbury Rugby Union in 1945 and 1946.[2]
After switching codes, Atkinson became a Linwood Keas player in the Canterbury Rugby League competition and a Canterbury and South Island representative. Atkinson was a reserve for New Zealand in 1950 and first played for the New Zealand Kiwis in 1951.[3] Atkinson toured Great Britain and France in 1951–52 and 1955–56 and Australia in 1952. Overall he played in 24 tests for the Kiwis, including being the vice captain of the squad in the inaugural Rugby League World Cup. 23 of those appearances were consecutive, until he missed the third test against Great Britain in the 1955 series.[4]
Atkinson was also a sprinter, being fast enough to compete on the cash sprinting circuit which existed at that time.[5]
Atkinson was a member of the Canterbury board of control between 1968 and 1976 and served as a provincial selector and the New Zealand Kiwis manager for the 1974 home series against Great Britain.[2] In 1976 Atkinson chaired the Canterbury board of control.
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