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Virtual Rugby League Hall of Fame |
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World Cup - Golden Lions - John Atkinson
World Cups (4) - Great Britain 1968, 1970, 1972; England 1975> Details from the Sportal Rugby League World Cup 2000 Greatest Players site Leeds winger John Atkinson was one of the most majestic sights on rugby league fields world-wide during a career which spanned 1966 to 1983 and yielded 401 tries.Atkinson made his international debut during Great Britain's hugely disappointing World Cup campaign of 1968 in Australasia. His first experience of World Cup rugby ended in a shock 2-7 defeat by France at Auckland but he did figure in Britain's only victory of the tournament - a 38-14 rout of New Zealand at Sydney. By 1970 he was a fixture on Britain's left wing, having starred in the Ashes victories in Sydney that year. Britain should have won the World Cup on home soil later in 1970. John played in three victories over the Aussies, the French and the Kiwis, when he scored his first World Cup try. In the final, a brutal encounter at Headingley, he scored Britain's only try, as Australia upset the odds with a 12-7 victory. In the French tournament of 1972, however, his luck changed. Britain again won all three games with Atkinson scoring against Australia at Perpignan and twice against the Kiwis at Pau. His World Cup winners medal was well earned when Britain drew with Australia at Lyons in the final. The dashing winger's finale in the World Cup saw him appearing in four games for England in 1975. Back to Golden Lions |
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