Atkinson feared he had thrown away Test chance

GLOUCESTER centre Mark Atkinson admits he nearly chucked away his chance of Test recognition because of his amateur attitude.

The 31-year-old made his international debut off the bench in England’s 69-3 win over Tonga last weekend and loved life at the highest level.

He missed out on selection for yesterday’s game against Australia but is keen for more after experiencing the highs and lows of the pro game.

Atkinson was released by Wasps and Sale and experienced relegation with Esher before being rejuvenated at Bedford and moving to Gloucester in 2014. More than 100 appearances for the Cherry and Whites later he finally was given a shot at the big time.

Atkinson said: “I wasn’t the greatest professional ever for the first few years of my career and it definitely impacts you. A bit later on I started to realise I’d started to throw it away and at Gloucester things started to fall into place.

“One of the most enjoyable years that got me back into rugby was at Bedford. Everyone at Bedford would say it isn’t a glamour place to play rugby, but they play properly and play in a great way. It definitely got me back into really loving it and feeling that I needed to kick on again after a couple of years in the wilderness.

“I feel very fortunate – I definitely started to think I was a little bit too old but I love the mindset that everyone in this squad has got a chance of making the World Cup. It feels you with confidence and I just want to get more of it.”

Atkinson got his call-up at the 11th hour after Owen Farrell’s false positive Covid test forced Jones into a reshuffle just 90 minutes before the match.

Atkinson added: “I never thought it would happen and I’ve been 24th man plenty of times in my career. It’s not often that you slip into a squad.

“One of the nice things was people not knowing, apart from my close family and friends, it took the pressure off. Nothing had been announced and it was allowed to stay quiet which probably helped me.”